From Black to Malfoy
by htdcd
Summary: How did Narcissa end up with Lucius? Was there someone she wanted instead? Find out what it was like growing up as Narcissa Black...
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

This fic was written in between HBP and DH, so it is canon up to the end of HBP. It does not intentionally disregard SS/LE, but I was unaware of it at the time, so if you have a problem with SS loving someone besides Lily, you shouldn't read this!

Disclaimer: The intellectual and property rights of Harry Potter and all related items are sole property of JK Rowling and Warner Bros. I own only the plot and non-HP characters.

Chapter 1 - The Youngest Sister

Narcissa sat anxiously at the table, hardly able to eat. She watched the rest of her family work on their breakfast of eggs, toast, and other assorted foods brought by the house elves. This was the day she had waited for her entire life; the day she would get her letter to Hogwarts. The day she could finally join her sisters instead of staying home to take lessons from her mother. She would no longer have to sit and listen while they told stories of the castle, the teachers, and the students. She would finally be able to have her own stories. It wasn't that Narcissa minded being the youngest of the three girls. Usually it was an advantage. Her father and mother doted on her - she rarely caused any trouble - that was reserved for Bellatrix and Andromeda. But when it came to Hogwarts, she wished nothing more than to be older, so she could go too. Suddenly, she heard a swoop and saw a stately owl with a letter in its claw flying through the kitchen window. It flew right in front of her and dropped the letter before turning around and leaving as suddenly as it had come.

No one said anything, apparently not phased by the fowl intruder. Narcissa picked up the letter. As she had predicted, it bore the seal of Hogwarts and she opened it carefully, slipping the contents out onto the table in front of her.

"Well, did you manage to get in?" Bella's voice rang out nastily across the table. "I can only hope so, I am dreadfully tired of hearing you whine every time we come home on holiday. 'Mum, when can I go to Hogwarts?'" She mocked in a sing-songy voice.

"That is enough Bella," their mother's sharp voice cut across the jaunt. Bella fell quiet, a scowl on her face. "We will leave for Diagon Alley in exactly one hour, girls, for your supplies. I expect you at the door and ready in that time. You may be excused from the table." Their mother did not wait for a response, but went back to cutting her perfectly poached eggs into small bites before swallowing them one by one.

Once out of earshot, Bella's snide remarks continued, "At least I won't have to see you hardly at all, seeing as how I am a fourth year. And you had better not come crawling to me when you can't make any friends. If you can even manage to get sorted into the right house," she threw a nasty glance at Andromeda.

"Cissy, if you don't get into Slytherin, don't worry. Mum and dad weren't too put off when I got sorted into Ravenclaw." Andromeda ignored Bella's comments.

"Just don't get put into Gryffindor," Bella slid in before going into her room.

"Well, I suppose she's at least right about that," Andromeda said with a smirk. "Best go get your things." And with that she slipped inside her room as well, leaving Narcissa to climb the stairs to the third floor to her bedroom and ready herself for her first trip to Diagon Alley.

***

The trip did not take long, and before she knew it, they were making their way onto the Hogwarts' Express. She tried desperately to keep up with her older sisters, although it seemed Bella was doing her best to lose both Narcissa and Andromeda. Finally, Andromeda and Narcissa found a compartment that had only one other student in it, and they made their way inside.

"Mind if we sit here?" Andromeda asked politely.

"Oh," the girl looked a bit surprised, but nodded, "sure."

"I'm Andi Black," Andromeda stuck out her hand to the girl, "and this is my sister, Cissy."

"Hi," the girl said, "I'm Alice. Alice Price. I'm a first year."

"Me too," said Narcissa. "Andi's second, though."

Narcissa and Andromeda sat down on the bench opposite Alice and both the first years began asking all sorts of questions to Andromeda, who fielded them patiently. It seemed like only minutes, but Narcissa realized it must have been hours, because it was beginning to look dark outside, and she realized she was getting hungry. She heard a cart coming down the corridor, and Andromeda opened the compartment door.

"That'll be the trolly. Mum gave us enough for a few licorice snaps each. She didn't want us to spoil our dinner."

The trolly stopped in front of their compartment and a kind-looking, elderly woman asked, "Anything from the trolly, loves?"

"We'll have," Andromeda began, but was cut off when the woman was shoved forward into her cart by two boys who had been running down the hallway.

"Now wait just a moment," the woman turned around and grabbed one of the boys' ears, "that is no way to be moving around the train." The boy, who had messy dark hair, glasses, and hazel eyes, stole a glance at his friend, whose was trying to squelch a smile.

"Sorry miss, won't happen again," he said in a convincing voice.

"It had better not, or I will inform your head of house!" The woman threatened. The two boys hastened off to their compartment and the woman turned back around to the three girls. "So sorry, dears, what was it you wanted?"

***

The train ride had finally come to an end, and the girls had changed into their robes. They not seen hide nor hair of Bella, but neither Narcissa nor Andromeda minded. Andromeda shuffled Narcissa and Alice off in the direction of the other first years, and disappeared into the crowd. It was at that moment that Narcissa had her first real feelings of anxiety and homesickness, wishing there was someone she could be with that she knew. She was glad that she at least had met Alice, so she was not amidst total strangers.

Narcissa thoroughly enjoyed the ride to the castle, but as it drew closer, she began having doubts about the sorting ceremony. She was not afraid of the ceremony itself, only what the result would be. She was sure she wanted to be in Slytherin. Everyone in her family had been in Slytherin since anyone could remember. Andromeda was the first in several generations to be placed in a different house, although her mother had persuaded her father not to call the headmaster and have her put into Slytherin by explaining that it really wasn't so bad, that at least she hadn't been sorted into Hufflepuff or Gryffindor.

The first years made their way into the Great Hall and the sorting ceremony began. Hearing her name called out loud gave Narcissa a start, but she made her way up quickly to the stool and sat down, waiting for the hat to be placed on her head. "Please put me in Slytherin, please put me in Slytherin," she chanted silently to herself, she jumped when she heard the hat talk back to her. "Slytherin, you say? An interesting choice; I would have chosen perhaps Ravenclaw, or even Gryffindor." Narcissa gave her head an imperceptible shake, "Please put me in Slytherin," she implored, "please." The hat sighed, and said, "I see no harm in that," and then loudly proclaimed to the Hall, "SLYTHERIN!" and the Slytherin table erupted into a cheer.

Narcissa went to her new house table and sat down with some of the other first years. A few students after that, Alice was placed into Ravenclaw, and after what seemed like a very short time later, the sorting ceremony had ended and Narcissa was enjoying the feast that was laid out before them. Then the headmaster gave a short speech, and she quickly realized that Andromeda's account of him was far more accurate than Bella's, although she was not entirely surprised by that.

Everyone soon received their schedules, and Narcissa immediately felt a desire to go back home and endure her mother's lessons rather than face the day she had waiting for her in the morning. As she was following the prefect to the house dormitory, she was passed by a loud group of students, and she quickly realized her sister was among them.

"And that's my sister, Cissy," she heard Bella say, pointing at her, but not slowing her gait.

"Is it?" She heard a voice inquire and she saw a boy turn around to face her. His eyes locked with hers and he seemed to pause for a moment before continuing.

"Yes, but fortunately we won't have to see much of her," Bella laughed, and pulled the boy along with her, "Come on, Lucius, I don't want to get to the house after the first years." And the group hurried ahead of the first year line and was quickly out of sight.

***

The first few weeks of lessons were a blur to Narcissa, who had never had to do so much work in her life. She had seen people do magic for years, and she had thought it looked easy, but there was so much detail in each spell - how to hold the wand, the way to say the incantation - it was enough to drive anyone mad. It wasn't until Halloween began approaching that she finally started settling into her routine and mastering some of the things she was supposed to be learning. Fortunately, she had several classes with Alice, and they were able to study together most nights.

Also fortunate, Narcissa thought, was the fact that she truly hadn't seen much of Bella since the start of term. She only saw her at meal times and sometimes while passing through the corridors. She was nearly always with the same group of friends, which included the boy she had called Lucius, a few other girls, and several other boys. It somewhat shocked Narcissa that Bella seemed to be so popular. She wasn't a particularly nice person, or even striking in appearance. Yet every time she saw her she was always the center of attention in her group. She rarely ever stopped to say anything to Narcissa, though, but sometimes someone else in the group would give a nod of their head or even mutter a passing greeting. Someone who always managed to catch her eye was the blond boy, Lucius. He never said anything directly to her, though she was sure she wouldn't have the nerve to say anything to a fourth year - especially not one of Bella's friends - and especially not a boy.

She was completely taken aback, then, while she was sitting nearly alone in the common room just before going to the Halloween feast, when Lucius approached her, without Bella's group with him.

"Hello," he stated, "may I sit?" He gestured to an empty seat at the table where Narcissa was doing her schoolwork. She nodded, at a loss for words.

"I am Lucius Malfoy," he extended his hand to her. Hesitantly, she shook it. She was surprised to find it warm, as his skin was porcelain white and he looked almost clammy. "You are Narcissa Black? Bella's sister?"

Narcissa nodded, still unsure if she should say anything.

"She tells me you have high marks in Charms," he prodded.

She nodded again, although she was puzzled to find out that Bella knew anything at all about her marks.

"I have a brother. He is also a first year. His name is Damarcus. He is having some trouble with Charms and I was wondering if you could...perhaps...help him sometime." He paused, as if reading her expression.

Narcissa finally found her voice, "I could...I mean, I guess I could try, I'm not sure how helpful I'll be," she trailed off.

"I am sure your services will be," he paused again, searching for the right words, "more than adequate."

Narcissa couldn't think of anything else to do except nod, so she did, and Lucius gave her a thin smile and stood up.

"We should go to the Great Hall, the feast will be starting soon." He waved his arm in front of him, and Narcissa realized, feeling stupid for waiting a second too long, that he meant for her to go ahead of him. He held the common room door open for her and she exited. They walked down the hall together in silence, which was uncomfortable for Narcissa, but didn't seem to bother Lucius at all, since there were other students making their way to the Hall as well. She and Lucius entered the hall at the same time, and she was quickly swept away from him in the crowd of students, but not before she had glanced at the Slytherin table and seen her sister looking at her with an expression that could only be described as utmost loathing and contempt. This made Narcissa extremely nervous and she tore her eyes away and tried to find an open seat. She finally managed to sit down, but had not been seated two seconds when she heard her neighbor talking - apparently to her.

"You must be Narcissa Black," the boy said. She turned to face him and took in a sharp breath, thinking she had sat down next to Lucius. She let it out slowly, though, when she realized who it was.

"And you must be Damarcus Malfoy?" She said presumingly.

"I am," he held out his hand to her. "Lucius said he would be speaking with you. I seem to be in a terrible spot with my Charms work."

"I'm not sure I'll be much help," she said, hoping to get out of this predicament.

"Anything will do," he said, almost pleadingly. Narcissa felt sorry for him, since she herself was having trouble in her potions class, so she nodded.

"We can meet in the common room after lunch tomorrow and I'll see if I can help."

Damarcus smiled and turned away, beginning to eat. Narcissa suddenly realized how starving she was and joined him.

***

Narcissa had almost made her way back to the common room when she felt herself yanked into a dark corner of the corridor.

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice hissed into Narcissa's ear.

"I, wha - ow!" She yelped, trying to free her arm from an iron-tight grip.

The face the arm belonged to moved into the light, Bella was glaring at Narcissa with dark eyes. "With Lucius. What were you doing? I saw you two come in together. I know he talked to you - he's been asking me all sorts of questions about you - can't seem to keep his eyes off of you," she gave Narcissa a hard shake.

"He wants me," Narcissa finally wrenched herself free of Bella's grasp, "to tutor his brother in Charms," she said indignantly. Bella's eyes lightened a bit, but her glare remained. "His name is Damarcus," she continued.

"I know his name," Bella snapped, "you stay away from Lucius, do you hear me? He is mine."

Narcissa suppressed a laugh and got ready to run before she ended the conversation with, "Bella, how dreadful that you think you would lose your boyfriend to a first year," and she darted away before Bella could convert what Narcissa had said.

The next few weeks Bella watched Narcissa like a hawk. Narcissa met with Damarcus a few times, gave him a few pointers and study tips, and sent him on his way. He came back the next week to thank her for his improved marks. He offered to pay her for her time, but she said the only thing she really wanted was someone who was good in Potions to help her.

"I, uh, well, I'm not so good in Potions, either," he squirmed, apparently embarrassed by his lack of academic prowess, "but I know someone who is," his face brightened. "He's a friend of my brother's; I can talk to him if you like."

"Could you?" Narcissa asked, hopeful, "That would be wonderful! What's his name?" She asked him before they headed up to the dormitory for the night.

"I think it's Severus. Yes, it's Severus Snape." 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Meeting Third Years

True to his word, Damarcus had spoken with Lucius about a Potions tutor for Narcissa. She found this out a few days later when she was in the library working on a History of Magic essay and she felt someone sit down beside her. She blinked once and steeled herself, for she had seen in her peripheral vision who her table mate was.

"Narcissa," the Lucius whispered, "my brother tells me you wish to have some help with Potions?"

Narcissa closed her book and put down her quill. "Yes, he said a friend of yours might be able to assist me?"

Lucius inched closer to her and continued to whisper, "He is quite gifted in Potions, my friend. He says he will help you, but only if you are willing to work very hard."

"Yes," Narcissa whispered back, pulling away from him slightly, as he was crouching in on her personal space, "yes I am."

"Very well, then," Lucius leaned back abruptly, and stood up. "I will tell Severus to meet you in classroom 104 before dinner tomorrow. It is not in use at that time."

"I," Narcissa started, but stopped short when she realized Bella had come into the library and spotted her talking with Lucius. "Thank you," she said, and immediately opened her book up and buried her nose in it, willing Lucius to leave so she would not have to endure Bella's wrath again.

Lucius turned to see Bella glaring at them as well, and he leant down to Narcissa's ear, brushing it lightly with his lips as he breathed, "As for your sister, I would not worry about her." He paused, his breath hot on her cheek before continuing, "She is somewhat disillusioned when it comes to people returning her...fancy." And with that he raised his head and headed over to where Bella stood, starting a conversation about something which Narcissa neither heard nor cared.

The next day, after her last lesson, Narcissa made her way to classroom 104 before dinner. She pushed open the door and realized the room was empty. She put her things down on a desk near the front of the room and sat on the top of the next one, waiting for her tutor. Several minutes later, she heard the door bang open and saw a tall, thin boy with long hair walking toward her, his eyes dark. Narcissa was nearly afraid of him, when she suddenly remembered she had seen him before, with her sister's group. She recognized him now, and he set his books down noisily and began to speak.

"You are Narcissa?" He asked pointedly. His voice was smooth, like silk, and it caught Narcissa off guard, as it was not what she had expected.

"I - yes," she answered obediently.

"I am Severus Snape, and it has been brought to my...attention," he said with some disdain in his voice, "that you are in need of help with your Potions work?"

"I - yes, a bit," she replied weakly. Clearly this boy did not want to help her.

"I do not make it a point to help first years," he stated plainly, "but seeing as you helped Lucius' brother, I am...obliged...to help you." He stopped, waiting for a response.

Narcissa failed to see how her helping Lucius' brother obligated this boy to help her, but she said, "Thank you?" This came out more as a question than a statement.

"Well," he prodded impatiently, "I will need to see your essays and note book."

She obliged him and sat fidgeting while he glanced through her work, occasionally harrumphing and sighing, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. She thought to herself how much she hoped she hadn't acted like this while helping Damarcus. Suddenly, her head jerked up to the sound of the door being slammed opened, and four boys ran in, laughing hysterically, unaware of the current occupants.

Severus looked up as well and his eyes narrowed dangerously as he saw the boys and spat, "How typical of the fantastic four to barge into a room without a second thought to anyone else who might be in use of it."

The boys turned on a dime to face Severus and Narcissa.

"Oh, Sevvy, you've found yourself a girlfriend! You must've used a pretty powerful love potion, to get her to see past all that grease and grime you've got yourself covered in," one of the boys taunted, he had dark messy hair and hazel eyes. Narcissa thought he looked familiar.

Severus drew his wand and pointed it at the boy. His friend stepped in front of him and pulled out his own wand.

"Oi! Narcissa, there's loads better out there for you than this rotten mess," he goaded.

"Sirius Black, put down your wand this instant, or I shall tell your father you were about to use it on a Slytherin." She said coldly. "And for your information," she continued to her cousin and his friends, "Severus is tutoring me in Potions. By the way, Sirius, how are your marks this year? Regulus tells me you're near restriction again? Is this true? I'd like to think you'd spend your time doing something a bit more useful than running around rampant with these...boys." She finished limply, hoping they would leave and not begin a fight.

"Let's go, James," Sirius said to one of the boys, the one with hazel eyes, "she's right we shouldn't waste our time on Snivellus. Narcissa, watch you don't get Confunded!" And before she could utter another retort, the four were gone and she turned to face Severus, his expression beyond black with rage.

"My cousin," she said in an explanatory voice, "I'm sorry he is such a git. That's what you get with Gryffindors, though, I expect." She tried to smile at Severus, who had bent his head back to looking at her work. "They seem to know you, though, but they're only third years. How is that possible?"

Severus' head snapped up at her and he said, in a voice that clearly stated he thought the question far more than stupid, "I am a third year."

Narcissa's eyes widened. She was sure Bella would never have allowed a third year to be part of her group of friends. She was kept from her musings, however, by Severus' cruel voice.

"Your work," he began, "is shoddy. Your problem is that you pay no attention to detail. If you are to improve...at all...this must change. Is that clear?"

She nodded.

"Get off the top of that desk and sit down here," he motioned to the seat next to him, "I suppose we will have to start with the simplest of potions to retrain you." And he opened his text book, which was scribbled on in the margins, and began to explain that page's potion to her.

Lucius had been right. Severus did expect Narcissa to work very hard at improving her potions skills, but it was paying off. Each week she would bring him her finished assignments for him to proofread, and each week there were less and less scratches and crosses on them. Finally, the day before the last day of class before winter exams, she brought him her final assignment and he took if from her, reading carefully. He read it through once, then twice, and then looked up at her, a strange look in his eyes.

"This is...excellent." He said gently, and he looked at her again, as if he was seeing her for the first time. The expression on his face changed into something softer, but only for a fleeting moment, then it was gone, and the scowl replaced it. "We will continue our lessons after the holiday." He stopped short, and the softer look returned, "If you wish."

"I do," Narcissa said in earnest, then, taking back her paper from him, she said quite sincerely, "Thank you, Severus."

"Thank Lucius," he replied, and then he scooped up his bag and belongings and was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Bella's Bothers

Winter holidays were a nightmare for Narcissa. At every turn, she encountered Bellatrix's hateful glare, and, if she wasn't careful, occasional physical torments as well: pulled hair, tripping, and other minor annoyances that quickly turned into major annoyances. After the third time of trying to explain the situation to her sister, Narcissa gave up and simply did as much as she could to remain in the room with another family member at all times. After only a few days, Narcissa found herself wishing heartily that the holidays would end so she could return to Hogwarts and out of the reaches of Bella's fury. Andromeda was at least somewhat helpful - she tried to stick around Narcissa so Bella couldn't get her hands on her, and she tried to give some advice, although Narcissa wasn't sure how helpful it was.

"I don't understand why she's so mental over it. We've talked, what, two, maybe three times?" Narcissa was in tears one night after Bella had "accidentally" shoved her down two flights of stairs. She was sure if her father hadn't been there to stop her fall with his wand that she would have several broken bones, or worse.

"And you've told her what you talked about?" Andromeda asked.

"A hundred times!" Narcissa said in an exasperated voice. "I don't even know what she's jealous about anyway; he doesn't even like her like that. He told me so himself."

"Ah," Andromeda mused, "that must be why, then."

Narcissa showed a confused look, so Andromeda continued, "She can't get him to like her, and you're not even trying but he's coming over to talk to you, so she's not angry that you're talking to him, she's jealous that you can get him to talk to you and she can't."

"But she seems to be with him all the time!" Narcissa protested.

"Are they alone, though?" Andromeda wondered.

"No," Narcissa thought for a moment, "usually they're with her group of friends."

"But he always comes to talk to you while you're alone. She's angry he doesn't seek her out to spend time with just her. She's really just mad at him, but she's taking it out on you. Do you...you know, like him?" Andromeda slipped in the last question hesitantly.

"Lucius?" Narcissa almost choked, "Good heavens, no! He's three years older than me; surely I must be just a child to him! The only reason he comes to talk to me is for me to help his brother or to get his friend to give me help with lessons. Actually, he sort of...makes me a bit uncomfortable. Gets too close to me sometimes. Sometimes I'm almost afraid of him. I don't even really like it when he does come talk to me. As far as I'm concerned, Bella can have him - and not a moment too soon."

"Well, I'm sure she'll get over it. And maybe after holidays he'll stop coming round to you." Andromeda sounded optimistic.

"Thanks, Andi," Narcissa smiled and gave her sister a hug before pulling up the covers to go to sleep. "Sometimes, I wish you were my only sister."

"I know, me too." Andromeda laughed lightly and left.

The last part of the holidays weren't so bad, as the girls' exam marks came by Owls and Bella was put on restriction in her room for most of the day. This allowed both Narcissa and Andromeda to enjoy their break a bit more and relax. Soon, though, it was time to return to Hogwarts, and Narcissa found herself glad, as she missed Alice and her other friends. She even found herself missing the Potions tutoring she had been receiving from the third year, Severus.

Once she got back to school, Narcissa was relieved to notice that Lucius wasn't finding her nearly as often as right before the holidays. As a result, she found that Bella didn't seek her out to torture her quite as much. Her routine quickly fell back into place, and she began to wonder why she ever missed school as she worked on her three foot-long essays for History of Magic, Transfiguration, and Potions.

At the end of the week, before her Potions essay was due, Narcissa went to room 104, where she and the third year boy had been meeting for her tutoring. As usual, when she got there, the room was empty. She waited five, ten, then fifteen minutes for him to arrive. She was about to pack up her things and leave for dinner when she heard footsteps running down the hall and seconds later, the door flew open.

Severus tried his best to look collected, but his chest was heaving from the sprint. Narcissa tried to conceal a grin as he flattened out his winded hair.

"I thought you might not be coming," she said as he made his way up to the front of the room.

"I thought," he took a breath, "perhaps you had...changed your mind..."

"Definitely not," she assured him, and handed over her newest piece of work for him to read. "How was your holiday?" She asked, trying to sound casual.

"Fine," he snapped, keeping his eyes on her paper. After a few moments of silence, he looked up at her, and seeing the hurt in her face, he had a look of remorse. "Fine," he said again, in a gentler voice, "and yours?" He replied, his eyes moving back to her essay.

"Oh," she sighed, "the first half was dreadful. My sister, Bella, I think she's a friend of yours, was intent on torturing me the whole time simply because this other friend of hers, and yours, I believe, has been talking to me...Lucius. She likes, him, you see, and she gets jealous when we talk, but I don't _like him_, like him, but she won't listen to reason. But then she was put on restriction so the holidays ended well..." She trailed off the end of her story when she realized Severus was staring at her, mouth slightly ajar.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely, "did I say something wrong?"

Severus closed his mouth for a few seconds before responding, "No, I just don't believe I've ever heard a recount quite like that before."

"Oh," Narcissa was relieved, she didn't want to lose her tutor, "do you have any sisters?"

"No," he replied quickly.

"Well, then that makes sense - you're not used to girls talking. We tend to ramble on sometimes. I'm sorry; I'll try to make it more succinct next time."

Severus didn't respond. He was finishing reading her essay, and she was beginning to get nervous.

"You," he said, looking at her over the top of the parchment, "have become lazy. This will not do. Rewrite it and bring it to me tomorrow during lunch." And he handed the red-mark covered parchment back to her and gathered his things. Narcissa began packing up her own belongings as he made his way out the door.

As his hand reached the handle, he turned around, "Have a pleasant evening," he said to her, before slipping out of the room.

Before she left, Narcissa couldn't help thinking to herself about this strange boy with whom she met weekly. Sometimes he made her feel poorly, other times, special. He alternately seemed annoyed and intrigued by her, and she wasn't sure if she liked him or not. She didn't dislike him, she decided quickly, but his roughness was hard to deal with at times. Her thoughts disappeared, however, when she heard her stomach growl, and she trotted off to dinner.

After several hours of hard work and some solitary library time, Narcissa had rewritten her Potions essay and was headed off to the Great Hall for lunch to find Severus. Although she was hoping to find him on the way, she didn't manage to see him, so as she entered the Hall, her eyes scanned the Slytherin table. Her heart sank when she finally spotted Severus, sitting right next to Lucius, who was right next to Bella. Wishing this errand to go smoothly, she made her way over to Severus.

She didn't even sit as she said, directly across from them, "Here, I've finished," and held out the rolled up essay for Severus to take.

Severus swallowed his current bite before placing his fork by his plate and taking it from her and stuffing it in his book sack. He didn't say anything to her, but nodded and then proceeded to take another bite. She turned away, relieved there hadn't been more conversation from anyone, when she heard Lucius begin to speak.

"Please," he said, and she turned back around, "sit down and have lunch with us. I believe we would all be delighted to hear how your lessons are going, now that you have been receiving extra help. Tell me, Severus, how is your student?"

Severus chose to continue eating and not respond to Lucius.

"I will assume your lack of derogatory remarks means she is doing satisfactorily. Pie?" Lucius held out a slice of steak and kidney pie to Narcissa, who politely refused.

"I'm not particularly hungry just now," she lied. "I should be going."

"Stay," Lucius said in a way that Narcissa clearly took to be a command, so she lowered herself back onto the bench and reluctantly took the pie, poking at it and eating tiny pieces here and there. "How is your first year, Narcissa?"

"Really, Lucius, are you seriously trying to tell me that you enjoy the company of a first year? And not just any first year, but my sister?" Bella snapped nastily. "I see enough of her at home, I don't need to spend my free time with her, too."

"You are free to leave, if you wish, Bella," Lucius said, his eyes still on Narcissa, who had decided her food was the only place she would be looking until lunch was over.

"Well," Bella said, dangerously, "if I _bore_ you so dreadfully, you can find someone _else_to go to Hogsmeade with next weekend." And with that, she stormed away from the table, leaving Lucius with a smug grin on his face.

Severus chose this time to speak. "Lucius, that really is cruel. She tortures Narcissa every time you say two words to her."

"Does she?" Lucius mused. "I can not imagine why."

"I thought you didn't like her," Narcissa said carefully. "Why were you going to go to Hogsmeade with her if you don't like her like that?"

"I didn't ask her," He said smoothly, "she asked me. I never said I would go, and now, I don't have to."

Narcissa was instantly reminded of the Slytherin snake, weaving around in the grass to get where it needed to go.

"Pity," he said, his eyes never leaving Narcissa, "you're only a first year. Your company would be most welcome."

And at that moment, Narcissa heard the bells chime for class. Relieved, she stood up quickly, "Bye," she said as she ran off to Charms, hoping Severus would find her before her Potions essay was due later in the afternoon.

Narcissa was beginning to worry that she wouldn't get her essay back in time for class when she felt someone walk up behind her as she crossed the lawn.

"Here," said the smooth voice, handing a rolled parchment over her shoulder, "it's better, but not "O" quality. I expect harder work next time."

"Oh, I..." Narcissa faltered, "thank you," was all she could manage.

"I spoke to Lucius," Severus said, now even with Narcissa, as they walked down the corridor. "I asked him to stop taunting Bella so she stops harassing you."

"Really?" Narcissa was incredulous. "That's about the nicest thing anyone's done for me here this year. Well, besides tutor me in Potions," she said with a smile. Her smile dropped, however, when she saw the foursome of boys that had interrupted their first session before break. They were headed over towards Narcissa and Severus, and she was pretty sure they wanted to start a fight with him. Severus clearly saw them, too, and tensed up, his eyes darkening. Narcissa caught the eye of her cousin, Sirius, and glared in what she hoped was a sufficiently threatening way. She saw him lean over to the boy he had called James, and they both nodded, and then turned away. They were almost to her classroom when she heard someone call out behind them.

"Severus," a girl's voice carried over the crowd, "wait up." Severus slowed down a bit and the girl caught up with them. "Who's this?" she asked politely.

"This is Narcissa Black, Bellatrix's sister; I'm tutoring her in Potions." He explained to the girl, whose fiery red hair was pulled back into a sloppy bun and whose vibrant green eyes had widened with the mention of Bella's name. "She does not share the same...qualities...as her sister." Severus continued, and the girl smiled. "Narcissa," Severus continued, "this is Lily Evans, a classmate of mine."

"How lucky you are to have Severus giving you extra lessons in Potions," she winked at Severus, "he's top in our class!"

"Second," he sighed, "always second to you."

"Well," Lily said to Narcissa, "I don't mean to be rude, but we all need to get to class or else someone's house will be losing points!"

And with that, they made their way to their respective lessons. As she sat down and pulled out her essay, Narcissa smiled as she remembered Severus saying how she wasn't at all like her sister. Maybe he wasn't so rough after all, she thought, smiling even broader as the lecture began.

The end of Narcissa's first year at Hogwarts came to a close much more rapidly than she ever dreamed it would. As exams approached, she found herself nearly sick with worry about how her marks would turn out. She wasn't too worried about Charms, that was a subject she excelled naturally in; and she wasn't concerned about Potions – her sessions with Severus had been so helpful, she was convinced she would get an O on both the written and the laboratory portions.

Finally, exams came and went, things wound down and all the students were gathered in the Great Hall for their final dinner. Narcissa was sitting with a small group of her friends and was about to go back to the dormitory to pack her things when she felt a strong presence behind her. She knew without turning around who was there. She wanted to ignore it, but she knew he was blocking her from leaving, so she took a deep breath and turned around to see the pale face and gray eyes staring down at her.

"Narcissa," Lucius began quietly, "could I speak with you for a moment – in private?"

Narcissa was taken aback slightly because she had seen little of him ever since Severus had asked him to stop seeking her out when Bella was around, and because they were so far apart in age, they rarely saw each other at any other times.

"I suppose," she agreed.

Lucius held his arm out and bowed slightly, waiting for her to get up. As she stood, she exchanged a glance with some of her tablemates, who looked more than jealous that she was being taken somewhere private by, in their opinion, a very good-looking 4th year. After she stood, he stepped in front of her and led her out of the hall. On their way out, she scanned the table for Bella, sure that she would be in for a miserable summer if she was seen leaving with Lucius. Puzzled, she realized Bella was not there, and she was so engaged in thinking where Bella might be that she nearly ran into the back of Lucius when he stopped short just by the door to let some older students pass. They continued on a path through the castle leading them back to the common room, but just before the entrance, Lucius took an unexpected turn and led Narcissa into an empty room.

Once inside the room, Narcissa realized it must have been an old classroom, as there were desks and old books lying around, but it couldn't have been in use recently, because there was a layer of dust over everything. Lucius closed the door behind them and Narcissa suddenly felt painfully uncomfortable.

"I won't keep you here long," Lucius began, and thankfully kept his distance from Narcissa, who had made her way behind a desk, hoping to keep some space between them. "I hadn't spoken to you in quite some time and I wanted to make sure that things went all right with your exams."

After a few moments, Narcissa realized that he had asked a question, and so she quickly answered him. "Oh, yes, fine. Thanks."

He stared at her a moment and continued, "I am especially concerned with your Potions marks. Have you found Severus to be an adequate tutor for you?"

"Yes," she responded immediately, "yes he has been really helpful."

Lucius smiled a thin, tight-lipped smile at her before going on. "And your services to my brother have been most appreciative."

"Well," she faltered, "you're welcome. He – was a hard worker." Lucius inclined his head in agreement.

There was a silence, and Narcissa's discomfort began to grow, her eyes flitting to the door.

"I trust your summer is well planned out?" Lucius asked, not moving; he was between Narcissa and the door.

"Oh, well, not really," she tried to evade, "we're not really planning anything."

"Then you should be at home near the end of July?" He asked.

Narcissa was wary of this question, but answered anyway, "Yes, I should be."

"The summer holidays do seem dreadfully long at times, don't you think? One must go so long without seeing those whose company…pleases them." He paused and his eyes bored into Narcissa, whose heart was beginning to race. "But perhaps…perhaps we will see each other again before the first of September."

Narcissa was nearly sweating now, "Perhaps." She mumbled, and began to edge her way from out behind the desk and toward the door.

As she was nearly past Lucius, she felt his arm stick out, grab her wrist, and stop her from moving forward. He pulled her close to him and put his mouth next to her ear and whispered softly, "I would so enjoy that."

Narcissa's body went rigid, but he let her go and did not turn around as she threw open the door and raced down the hall back to her room.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – The Unexpected Visitors

It was more than 2 weeks into summer holidays and Narcissa hadn't breathed a word of her meeting with Lucius to anyone – not even Andromeda. She knew that if Bella even had a hint of an idea that she had spent time alone with Lucius in a deserted classroom that she would have to fight for her life. His comment about seeing her before the start of school made her especially nervous. If he showed up at the house asking to see her, and not Bella, her entire family would wonder what she had done to catch the eye of the 4th – now 5th year boy. She would have a lot of explaining to do, and she had no idea where she would begin.

Fortunately, day after day had passed and there was no sign of Lucius. She had almost begun to relax and enjoy her summer when one night before dinner there was a knock at the door and she heard her father open the door and exclaim, "Tigelo! What a pleasant surprise!"

Narcissa wasn't sure who Tigelo was, but when she heard the sound of two boys' voices ring through the front hall with hellos and pleasantries, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach and willed that she be able to make it up to her room unnoticed.

"Girls! Dinner!" Her father roared at once and Narcissa blinked hard and steeled herself for what she feared would be an extremely uncomfortable evening. She made her way to the dining room, barely looking up from the floor as she came to her seat and sat down, unfolded her napkin, and waited patiently for the food. She suddenly caught a glimpse of one of the boys out of the corner of her eye and jerked her head up. The two boys were dark-haired and dark-eyed, and they looked familiar, although she could not place where she had seen them before. She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that they were not Lucius and Damarcus.

"So this must be Rodolphus," her father was saying, pointing to the older of the two boys, holding out his hand. They shook, and her father turned his attention to the younger, "and this must be Palonius." He shook the younger son's hand, and went back to his conversation with Tigelo. "Fine young boys you have there. I didn't realize you would be able to come by so soon! I figured your business would take up your time until nearly the start of school!"

"It is a slow week," Tigelo smiled, and took a sip of wine.

"Of course," her father answered with a smile.

Throughout dinner the fathers talked and no one else got a word in edgewise; not that Narcissa minded, she was still giddy with relief that the two boys weren't Lucius and Damarcus with their father. Finally, dinner ended, and the two fathers went behind closed doors in the study.

"Discussing business," Andromeda sighed as she put her napkin on her plate. "You were awfully quiet, Cissy," she noticed.

"Just thinking about things," Narcissa said quickly.

"Girls," their mother commanded their attention, "take Rodolphus and Palonius on a tour of the house. Try not to disturb your father."

Narcissa and Andromeda nodded their heads and beckoned the boys to join them, but Bella hung back, apparently not wanting to be a part of the tour.

"Bella, you will join them." Their mother ordered, then turned around and went into the kitchen to oversee the house elves.

Bella rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything as the girls began leading the boys around the house. Halfway through the tour, everyone seemed to lose all interest, and they decided to go back into the sitting room and wait for their fathers to finish whatever business they had.

"How was your first year at Hogwarts?" Rodolphus asked out of the blue after a long silence.

Narcissa realized he was talking to her, which surprised her, but she answered him, "It was fine. I had a lot of fun – I learned a lot."

There was more silence, and then Narcissa tried to carry on the conversation, "Do you attend Hogwarts as well?"

"Sure," he said, seemingly relieved to be engaged in conversation. "I'm going into my sixth year, and Palonius here is going into his fourth."

"That's where I've seen you, then," Narcissa said, "probably around the halls on the way to classes."

"Oh yes, I've seen you as well," Palonius chimed in, "and your sisters."

"Are you looking forward to next year?" Rodolphus asked her.

"A bit – not the work, but I miss my friends quite a lot. I didn't expect to." She smiled, thinking of Alice and the other girls she had gotten to know throughout the year.

"I feel the same," Rodolphus chuckled.

They were interrupted by their fathers coming into the room, tying up their conversation. "We'll see how it goes, then," Tigelo was saying, shaking hands with Narcissa's father.

"Excellent, excellent," he responded, "We'll keep in touch. Best of luck with the business."

The boys and their fathers gathered their things and made their way to the door.

"It was nice to meet all of you," Rodolphus said as he was leaving.

"Very nice," his brother added.

"See you in September!" Narcissa said, waving them out.

Once they had gone, she sighed a huge sigh of relief that the evening hadn't turned out nearly as awful as she had thought when she heard the knock a few hours ago. Unfortunately, she took one look at Bella's face and realized she must have done something horribly, horribly wrong, because her black eyes were glaring and it looked as though there might be steam coming out of her ears. She turned around and stormed off upstairs to her room.

"What's eating her?" Andromeda said, following her with her eyes.

"I dunno," Narcissa wondered.

The girls went to bed and Narcissa was amazed at how easily she was able to get to sleep that night.

The sun peeked through the curtains in Narcissa's room the next morning, and she yawned and turned over in her bed, but she was suddenly in immense pain.

"Ow!" She screamed, grasping at her head, "Let go!" She turned to see Bella, face full of fury, with a handful of her hair, yanking.

"Get out of bed!" She screeched, pulling Narcissa's hair and dragging her onto the floor, out the door, and down the stairs. Narcissa was screaming the whole time, tears welling up in her eyes as Bella shoved her onto the couch in the sitting room.

"Bella!" Andromeda had run into the room after hearing the commotion, "What are you doing?"

Bella had her wand drawn and was pointing it at Narcissa. "Mum and dad have gone out for a few hours, and I am going to get some answers from her!" She shrieked hysterically.

"What is wrong with you?" Andromeda was incredulous.

"Stay out of this!" Bella warned, pointing the wand at Andromeda, and then back to Narcissa.

"Leave her alone or I'll go OWL mum." Andromeda threatened.

"Stay where you are or I'll hex you to Hogsmeade!" Bella howled. Andromeda stopped and crossed her arms.

"She's finally going to tell me what's going on – how she's doing it! She's a tiny little slut! That's what she is!" Bella wagged the wand at Narcissa, face getting redder with each passing second.

"What?" Andromeda and Narcissa both asked in shock together.

"That's right, I know all about your little meeting with Lucius the last day of term, you tramp – together in a deserted classroom? Rodolphus told me all about it! How long have you been messing around with Lucius behind my back? I thought I told you to stay away from him! And then you start acting all smart when Rodolphus and his brother come around, don't worry, I'll bet they start fancying you, too, when school starts back up! You whore, is that how you got Severus to tutor you? You have to be doing something! There is no way you worthless first year could get that many boys to want to spend that much time with you! I have known them for four years and I have to prance around of them like a buffoon to get them to give me the time of day and you show up and stand there and they fall to their knees for you! How do you do it? It's not fair! It's NOT fair!" Bella's eyes were brimming with tears, and she spun around and ran out of the house.

Both girls were silent for a moment before Andromeda spoke to Narcissa softly, "Are you all right?"

Narcissa nodded.

"You went into a deserted classroom with Lucius Malfoy?" Andromeda asked.

"No – well, yes, but not on purpose. He just wanted to ask me about exams and what I was doing this summer. We were only in there for a few minutes."

"Oh," Andromeda said somewhat disappointedly. "It would have made for some interesting conversation if what Bella was saying were true." She smiled and winked at Narcissa. "Let's go have some breakfast."

Narcissa smiled back and stood up, hoping Bella wouldn't be back for a while.

Bella didn't come back until nearly an hour after their parents had returned home. None of the girls mentioned the incident, and Bella seemed to have cooled off. She didn't even look at Narcissa during dinner. Narcissa thought she may have escaped some unspeakable torture, but unfortunately, as Narcissa was climbing into bed, Bella opened the door and closed it behind her, turning to face Narcissa. Narcissa opened her mouth to shout for her mother, but Bella waved her wand and a silencing charm prevented any sound from coming out.

Narcissa was sure Bella was going to kill her, but she just bent down next to Narcissa's ear and whispered in a deadly voice, "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but Lucius Malfoy is mine. Next to our family, the Malfoys are the most powerful wizards in Britain, and I will not let you mess up what I have worked on for four years. I will get father to arrange our marriage, and I will be Bellatrix Malfoy. And if you do anything to stop me, I will hurt you. Stay – away – from him."

And with that, she pulled back and left the room. Narcissa suddenly realized that the silencing charm was still in effect, but not knowing the counter curse, she was resigned to go to sleep and wait for Andromeda to fix her in the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – On the Train

The time had finally come for all three Black girls to return to Hogwarts. Narcissa was relieved that the end of July had come and gone without any appearance from Lucius, despite his remark in June. The family made their way to Diagon Alley for the supplies, and then on to Platform 9¾ to board the Hogwarts Express. They kissed their mother and father goodbye and began to meet up with their friends and get on the train. Once inside, Narcissa spotted Alice and waved her over to an empty compartment she had spotted. Andromeda and Bella were already nowhere to be found, so Narcissa and Alice were alone, exchanging stories about their summer. When Narcissa got to the part about Bella's meltdown, Alice seemed horrified but not astounded.

"Everyone knows he fancies you – you can see it when he looks at you. And he looks at you a lot, when you aren't looking."

Narcissa shuddered. "Well he'd better stop or I'm not going to live to see third year. Besides, he's 3 years older than I am – what is he thinking? He's so creepy! I am going to have to avoid him at all costs this year." She finished, and heard her compartment door open.

"Avoid whom? May I ask?" The silky voice filled the cabin as Lucius stepped inside. "Hello," he inclined his head to Alice, who just stared at him.

"Lucius, you shouldn't be in here. Bella nearly killed me this summer when she found out you took me into that old classroom." She felt much more confident having spent a summer away from him and having Alice by her side. "In fact, I don't think it's a good idea for us to see much of each other at all this year. It clearly upsets Bella, and besides, I'm just a second year, there's no real reason for us to spend any time together. I certainly don't mean to offend you," she slipped in, remembering Bella's comment about how powerful the Malfoy family was. "But it's just too stressful wondering when Bella is going to take me into some corner and hex me so badly I'll have to be in the infirmary for a week."

Lucius seemed stunned for a moment that Narcissa had said all that to him, but he recovered quickly and bowed slightly and made his way out of the car, saying, "I certainly understand your concern, although I believe I can…rectify…the problem with Bella. I will leave you with your friend, and hopefully you will change your mind." And with that, he closed the door and left them in peace.

"Wow!" Alice said incredulously, "That was amazing! Bella must have put the fear of God into you to make you talk like that to him! Do you feel better?"

"I do, actually," she sighed, and sat down next to Alice. "I'm not sure how long it'll last, but at least I have a witness that knows I told him to lay off."

"I'll spread the word," Alice said, knowingly. They both giggled and got ready to settle in for a long train ride.

The train had been going for quite some time when the girls got restless and decided to wander the halls looking for other friends to swap stories with. They went up and down, finding people here and there, sharing bits and pieces of their summer. Suddenly, Narcissa saw the back of someone she had wanted to see for quite some time. She grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her through the crowd.

"Severus!" She tapped the boy's shoulder when she finally reached him, "How was your summer?"

He turned around to face her, a scowl imprinted on his face. It softened slightly when he realized who it was.

"You're taller!" She exclaimed brightly. "And you've let your hair grow! It looks nice. Makes you look older. How was your holiday?"

"Uh," he stammered, "Long. And yours?"

"It was all right I suppose," she sighed, "not long enough." And she smiled at him, "Could I persuade you to still help me with Potions this year?"

"I'll think about it. I have an extremely heavy class load this year. OWLS, you know."

"I thought OWLS were fifth year," Narcissa asked.

"They are, but fourth year classes are almost more important, to get you ready for the work."

"I see. Well, let me know," she finished, and turned to walk away.

"Narcissa," he called after her, and she turned around, "Erm, you're…taller…too." He said, awkwardly, then turned away and made his way back to his compartment. Narcissa watched him go and giggled turning back to Alice.

"Looks like Lucius isn't the only who fancies you," Alice teased.

"Oh stop! Severus would never think of me like that, he's far to concerned with his studies. Besides, he's good friends with Lucius – I don't think he's allowed to like me. Even as a friend."

"I'm going to go to the loo," Alice said, "I'll meet you back at the car."

"Sounds good, we'll change into our robes."

Alice headed off in one direction and Narcissa in the other. As she was making her way back to her car, she passed a compartment and heard someone talking very loud and in a very angry voice. She peeked in the window to see what was going on and was surprised to see her sister shaking her finger in Lucius's face, with some of their other friends, including Severus, sitting around them. Everyone inside seemed to be trying to ignore the conversation, but Narcissa pulled her head away from the window and pressed her ear against the door, trying to hear.

"She's a slut, Lucius! A tramp! I know what you did with her last year in that classroom! She is a first – second year! We are fifth year students! How dare you jeopardize our reputation by messing around with that trash! You have no business spending time with her!"

There was a silence, and then Lucius began to speak. By the sound of his voice, Narcissa decided she would not have wanted to see his face.

"You are in dangerous territory, Bellatrix," his voice was so low Narcissa had trouble making out the words. "Do not presume to tell me who I can or cannot spend my time with. I happen to enjoy your sister's company, and if I choose to spend time with her, then I shall. You are impeding on my ability to do this, however, so I will tell you this once, and once only. Do not threaten her. Do not harm a hair on her head. If you do anything to make her not want to spend time with me, you will be dearly sorry."

He paused. Narcissa was almost flattered that he really wanted Bella to stop torturing her enough to threaten her like that, but then she remembered who was saying it, and almost wanted to choke. Lucius continued in a calmer, but still pointed voice.

"It has come to my attention that the Lestrange family paid a visit to your house this summer? I wonder what your fathers could possibly have had to talk about? They don't wander in the same circles. You are a fifth year, surely your parents must be thinking about your…future. A marriage to a Lestrange would be a good match. Believe me; I would not hesitate to give my father some…encouragement…to talk your father into arranging such a scenario."

Bella's face must have registered a strong emotion, because Narcissa heard Lucius chuckle before continuing, "Oh, I know that is not your plan, but do not think for a moment that I will not make that happen if I even think you are upsetting Narcissa again."

There was another short pause.

"Do I make myself clear?" Another pause. "Good."

Suddenly, Narcissa realized her sister would want to leave the car, having been utterly humiliated, so she hurried down the hall to her own compartment to wait for Alice and tell her what she had overheard. She was both elated and terrified at the same time. Bella would leave her alone this year – she certainly didn't want to marry Rodolphus Lestrange – Narcissa knew that for a fact. But that would mean Lucius could approach her at will, and she definitely was not looking forward to that. She and Alice had to come up with a plan so that she would be alone as little as possible this year. Her gears were already turning as Alice came back in, and they began to change into their robes as they discussed the possibilities.

Narcissa quickly decided that her second year at Hogwarts was going to be even more intense than the first. At least some things were better, like now she knew how to find her way around the castle, and she had made lots of friends, so she didn't feel homesick quite as often, but her classes were much more work than last year. She found herself up into the late hours of the night writing foot after foot of essays for Potions, Transfiguration, History of Magic, and even Herbology. She had been worried that Lucius would find and corner her but she was so busy, she didn't even have time to think about it. Her marks were coming back high and so she knew she was putting in plenty of time, but as Halloween approached, the material began to get more and more difficult, and she knew she was going to need some help. She managed to spend some time with Alice, and that worked for the classes they had together, and even Andromeda was able to help her with Herbology, but when she asked for help with Potions, Andromeda was at a loss.

"I'm afraid I'm not much good with Potions. I struggle every year with that class – especially the making of the Potions. I can memorize the ingredients and even how to put them together, but I'm just not that good at actually making them into something useful." Andromeda apologized to Narcissa. "Why don't you work with that boy who helped you last year, you know? That one who's a third – well, now I suppose he's a fourth year. What was his name?"

"Severus?" Narcissa supplied.

"Right. Him. You two seemed to get on all right, why don't you ask him if he can help you again?"

"I did, on the train at the beginning of the school year. He said he was too busy to help me this year, that he was taking too many classes."

"Well, ask him again and see if he's changed his mind. But whatever you do, you'd better do it soon. I've learned that if you let it go, it only gets worse, and playing catch up is really, really hard to do in a subject you're not very good at."

"I suppose I could ask him again. And even if he can't, maybe he knows someone who could help me," she said, remembering the red-headed girl who was with him that one day on the way to class.

"Well, best of luck, but I have to run – the Quidditch match is starting soon, and I promised my friends I would go. Are you coming?"

"Maybe," Narcissa lied, who had decided after her first – and only – Quidditch match, that she would rather spend time with Lucius that watch another; she didn't understand what Andromeda and her friends saw in the sport. "I think I might go try to find Severus." Somehow, she felt sure that he didn't much care for Quidditch, either.

"All right, well, I'll see you later then." And she turned and went out to a group of girls who were ushering her towards the Quidditch field, laughing and talking about something.

Narcissa stayed in the castle as the door shut and tried to think of where Severus might be on a Saturday afternoon. She decided to try the library, and so she headed off in that direction, thinking of how to ask Severus to tutor her or find someone else who could. When she arrived at the library, it was nearly deserted, which didn't surprise her, since she knew there was a match going on and she seemed to be in the extreme minority of students who didn't care for Quidditch at all. She quickly scanned the students who were there, working on homework, for the dark hair of Severus, but she didn't see it. She tried to think of another place to look, and decided on the house common room. As she was leaving the library, though, she saw Lucius coming in, alone. She felt her stomach drop and tried desperately not to catch his eye, hoping he wouldn't see her as she ducked into a row of bookcases. Unfortunately, he had seen her, and now she was boxed in as he made his way over to her.

"Narcissa," he exclaimed. "What are you doing inside on such a lovely day during a Quidditch match?"

Narcissa immediately remembered thinking earlier that she had chosen Lucius over the match in her head and now wholeheartedly regretted that thought.

"I don't much care for Quidditch," she said truthfully.

"Ah," he smiled thinly, "Nor do I, I find it rather boring, and quite brutish. Dangerous, even. Thankfully, Bella and my other friends adore it, so I finally have some alone time to…think."

"Well, that's…nice," Narcissa said lamely. "Are you here to study?"

"No, are you? How are your classes going this term?" He asked with genuine interest.

"Well, they're – actually, not so well. At least not one of them. I was able to get some help with the others, but I was actually trying to find Severus to ask him if he could help me again, or at least if he knew someone else who could. I thought he might be here. He's so serious about his studies."

"Yes," Lucius mused, "yes he is. He is serious about many things. I know he is rather busy this year, so I'm not sure how often he would be able to help you, but I can talk to him and let you know."

"I," she began, "I can talk to him myself. I just have to find him. Do you know where he might be?"

Something dark flitted through Lucius' eyes for a moment, and Narcissa was almost frightened. But it passed almost immediately and he answered her, "I believe you may be able to find him in the dungeons, working on some Potions. That is where he usually is when I need to locate him."

Narcissa nodded, "Thank you," and began to move toward the end of the row and leave, "I suppose I'll see you around, then."

"Narcissa," Lucius said, stopping her short of the end of the shelves. He looked directly into her eyes and asked, "Do I upset you in some way?"

Narcissa wasn't sure what to say – she couldn't say yes, but she didn't want to lie.

"Whenever I approach you, you seem to become uncomfortable. Is it Bella? I assure you, she has been dealt with."

"I know," Narcissa let slip out. "I – I heard your conversation on the train."

"Ah," he averted his eyes for a brief second, then returned to looking directly into hers. "Then you know that I…enjoy…your company. Is there some other reason you do not enjoy mine?"

Narcissa was surprised that his voice had lost some of his edge and that he seemed to be truly worried that he caused her discomfort. She relaxed a little, and answered him, "Well, yes." She paused, and he let her, "It's just – you're fifteen –"

"Sixteen," he interrupted.

"Fine, sixteen, then," she continued, "and, well, I'm only thirteen. The only person I've every really spent time with who's that much older than I am is Bella. And, we don't really get along that well; as you know. It's just…odd. I'm not really sure why you want to spend time with me."

Lucius seemed to take a moment to digest what she had said, and then replied softly, "For two years, I had to endure Bella's stories about her sisters, and then I met Andromeda, and realized they were true. She is quite boring and plain, and overtly obsessed with her marks."

Narcissa let a tiny smile cross her lips at that comment. "That's true," she agreed, then let him continue.

"And so then I wondered about you. She had told me you were obnoxious, rather painful to look at, dim-witted, and dull. I had little desire to even meet you, but then, the first day of school last year when she pointed you out in the hallway, I could tell immediately that you were not, in fact, obnoxious, but instead quiet and lonely. You didn't seem terribly stupid, and you were definitely not," he stopped short, "painful to look at."

Narcissa felt her cheeks burn slightly, and she quickly stared at the floor.

"I just wanted to get to know you better. And as I spent more and more time around you, I realized that Bella had been lying to make herself feel better, as you are a far more interesting person to carry on a conversation with than she is, and she knows it. I will admit it, it has been entertaining to watch her rage with jealousy whenever I approach you, but had I known how uncomfortable it made you, I assure you, I would have stopped long ago."

Narcissa looked back up at him, incredulous that he did not realize how uncomfortable he had made her.

"Narcissa, I just ask that you give me a chance to be your friend. I know we're not in the same year, but I think that everyone else would enjoy your company just as much as I do – I know for a fact Severus does – and I think if you spent some time with us that you'd fit in quite nicely."

Narcissa was stunned, "So," she began – a bit embarrassed, "you don't…fancy me?"

Lucius chuckled, "Oh dear," he smiled, "I have done some things to make you think that, haven't I?"

She nodded.

"Of course not! You're right about one thing, you're far too young for me to be thinking anything like that. I must have gotten carried away antagonizing Bella."

Narcissa felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. "Well, I'm really glad we were able to, um, talk about this," she said, surprised with herself.

"As am I," he smiled at her.

"Well, if you don't mind, I think I'll try to find Severus and ask him about my Potions before the match finishes,"

"Of course. If you can't find him, let me know, and I'll make sure he finds you." Lucius let her pass and she left the library, feeling like a completely new person. She felt sorry that she hadn't been able to have that conversation with him earlier – it could have made the previous 18 months much less painful. But at least now she knew she wouldn't feel like vomiting every time he came around, and since he wasn't trying to humiliate Bella anymore, he wouldn't make it seem like he was flirting with her. She was actually quite pleased that she had been invited to join a group of 4th and 5th years. As she made her way down to the dungeons, she realized she couldn't wait until Alice came back from the match to tell her about the library conversation.

She checked room after room in the dungeons and was beginning to wonder if she would ever find Severus, when she finally flung the door open to one of the last ones and saw a tall boy facing a smoking cauldron, furiously scribbling notes in his open textbook. The sound of the door jerked his head up and he whirled around, wand drawn, to face her.

He quickly put his wand away when he saw Narcissa's face.

"Sorry," he said quickly, "I thought you might be…someone else."

"It's ok," she said, "is this a bad time? Lucius said you might be here."

"Did he?" Severus asked wryly. "And no, this time is fine. What do you need?"

"Oh," she was surprised at his cut to the point. "Erm, remember on the train, I asked if you could keep helping me with Potions? Well, I've done all right so far this year, but now things are getting so difficult, I can't seem to make any potions correctly, my marks are starting to slip, and I need some help."

"I see," he said simply.

"I know you're busy," she continued, "with, your work and all," she gestured to the cauldron and the ingredients on the table, "But even if you can't help me, I was hoping you knew someone who could." She finished hopefully.

Severus didn't say anything for a moment, but kept his eyes on her, arms folded across his chest.

"I can help you," he said finally, and turned back around to sit at his cauldron. "Meet me down here tomorrow at noon. Bring your cauldron. And your textbook. And your quill. For notes."

Narcissa waited a moment to make sure he was finished before saying, "Thank you, Severus, really, I appreciate it so much."

"It's nothing," he said quickly, not turning around.

"All right, then," she said, backing up toward the door, "See you tomorrow, then."

"At noon," he said back to her, never turning around.

"Ok," she finished, and then paused to see if he would look at her, but then realizing he wasn't going to, she left and made her way back to the common room, thinking how strange he was. She was intrigued with him, and wanted to figure him out, but she knew she had to be careful, or he might change his mind about helping her.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Unwrapping the Diamond

Narcissa had hurried through lunch so she could get her things and meet Severus in the dungeons for their tutoring time. She was lugging her cauldron, filled with her book, quill, and notes, down the staircase into the dungeons when she heard someone come up behind her.

"You look like you could use some assistance," Lucius said as he lifted the cauldron out of her hands.

"Thanks," she said sincerely, and shook her arms out to stop the cramping. "What are you doing in this part of the castle?"

"Oh, nothing much, I just saw you leave from lunch a bit early and thought something might be wrong. I suppose you're on your way to meet Severus?"

"I'm supposed to meet him at noon, and I don't think he'd appreciate it if I were late."

"He wouldn't. Is this the room?" He asked, as she slowed at the end of the hallway and opened the door.

"I think so; this is where he was yesterday."

"Well, then here you are," he said as they made their way inside and he set her cauldron on one of the desks at the back of the room.

Narcissa couldn't help feeling a bit strange; this was the first conversation she had had with Lucius where she wasn't trying to avoid him. _It was almost pleasant_, she couldn't help thinking to herself.

"I suppose I'll see you later, then," he said, moving slowly toward the door.

"I suppose," she replied.

"I could…wait here…until he comes. Sometimes he tends to be running behind schedule, even though he…despises that quality in others."

"If you want," Narcissa said hesitantly, but was spared any more awkwardness by the entrance of Severus, levitating a cauldron and several Potions ingredients, and a textbook. He paused for a moment upon seeing Lucius, but made his way quickly over to the front table and set his things down.

"Well, I'll leave you two to get to work then," Lucius said quickly, and ducked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

It was silent for a while, as Severus set up his work station. Narcissa began to wonder what he was thinking, and started talking.

"He helped me bring my cauldron down here." Severus continued his set up silently as she continued, "I mean, I can levitate, it's such a simple charm, but you know, we're not supposed to do magic in the halls," she paused, but Severus didn't acknowledge her. "Well, maybe fourth years can, but we've definitely been told that our house can lose points if we're caught," she began to grow uncomfortable, afraid she was upsetting Severus. "So I was carrying it, and it was heavy, and Lucius, he took it for me – I'm not used to moving it out of the Potions classroom…"

"Move your cauldron over here so we can start," he snapped.

Narcissa hurried over to her cauldron and brought it to the front of the room to where he had his workstation set up.

"And I don't care why Lucius was here. Your relationship is none of my business," he added, not looking at her, but measuring out different ingredients and laying them side by side on the table.

"Oh," Narcissa faltered, as she set down her quill and parchment, "we don't have a…I mean, we're not a…there is no relationship. We're just…friends, I suppose. I don't avoid him anymore. My sister has stopped…"

"Open your book to page two-hundred forty-three," he snapped.

When she fumbled with the pages, he waved his wand and her book slammed open to the correct spot, showing the directions for making a simple shrinking potion.

"Read the directions," he commanded. Narcissa began to look at the page and read them silently to herself. "Out loud," he added.

Narcissa complied, although she felt a bit silly. Severus waited, arms folded across his chest, until she had finished.

"The most important thing to do when making any potion is read the directions through at least one time. I prefer twice. Three if the potion is particularly difficult."

Narcissa nodded.

"Well write it down," he said in a nearly condescending voice.

Narcissa picked up her quill and scribbled the direction onto her parchment.

"Then, it is necessary to make visual cues on the page every time you will be adding a new ingredient. I have a system. You can use mine or come up with your own. Star for roots, x for liquid, dash for plants…go on, mark it throughout the potion."

"But I can't write in the book," Narcissa was worried what her professor would say if he saw her scribbles on the pages of her text.

"You bought it; you can write whatever you like. I just suggest the writing be useful."

Narcissa hadn't thought about it like that, and so she went back through the directions and marked each time she had to add a new ingredient.

The lesson continued as Severus took her through preparing for the potion, making the potion, and testing the potion. She was astonished that the first time she made it, it worked perfectly.

"I've never been able to make it work before! Especially on the first try – I got close once, but not until after the fourth time."

"It's because you do not mentally prepare yourself for the entire process. If you follow these guidelines, your second year potions are simple enough that you should have little trouble from now on. Try the potion on page three hundred seventy-two."

Narcissa went to turn the page, but pulled her hand back as the pages snapped over to reveal the next potion.

"But I haven't ever tried this one," she said in a worried voice. "We don't get to cheering potions for another month."

"If you want to excel in a discipline," Severus explained, his voice softening, "the key is to prepare. Try the things you know are coming. Then, when the time comes in class, you will already have the problems worked out. It's called initiative; working when you don't have to, beyond homework and normal studying. It's how truly great wizards are made."

Narcissa didn't have a reply for that, so she decided to turn and begin reading the directions. Since she had never seen them before, she read them three times, making sure she caught all the ingredients, marked when they were added, and then prepared them for the potion. She didn't want there to be a disaster, so she went a bit slower than she normally would have, but soon got lost in the making of the potion, even forgetting that Severus was there, watching her. By the time she had finished making it, she didn't have any clue how much time had passed. The directions said the potion should take a half-hour to make, but she had taken some extra time at the beginning, and so she thought maybe she had been working for close to 45 minutes.

"There," she said triumphantly, putting the cork on the vial she had filled with her trial. She turned around to where Severus had been standing when she started, but was startled that he wasn't there. She turned around and saw that he had moved to her other side and had sat down in one of the desks. He was leaned back in the chair, and his hands were folded in his lap. His face had a soft expression on it, almost content, as though watching her make the potion was something he had enjoyed. She realized he had been watching her like that for quite some time and she suddenly felt very self-conscious. She turned her head away as she said, "I'm not sure how we can test it out."

"There is no need," he replied, remaining in his seat. "It is perfectly made."

"Really?" She turned her head to look at him, incredulous, "How can you tell?"

Severus let a smile creep onto his lips. "Although this was the first time for you to make this potion, I assure you, I have made it more than a hundred, and am well aware of what it should, or should not look like."

"Oh," she felt embarrassed, "of course."

"How did you find it," he asked, finally getting up.

"Find what?" she asked him, as he made his way over to her, inspecting her work.

"Making the potion. Was it difficult? Tiresome?" He stood next to her, picking up her vial, and holding it up to look at. He was in her personal space, but she found that it did not bother her as it had when Lucius was in the same spot.

"It was actually," she paused, thinking about it, "quite enjoyable. Usually I'm so stressed out when I'm making a potion, it's miserable, but I actually wasn't worried about this one."

"I could tell," he said, putting the vial down. "You might want to keep this for…a rainy day," he smiled again at her, catching her eye. There was a moment of silence, and then he quickly backed away. "Well," he continued, "we should probably go change for dinner."

"Dinner?" she was shocked, "it can't be later than, what, two?"

"Actually, it's nearly four." He chuckled at her astonishment. "The shrinking potion took nearly two hours, and this one nearly an hour and a half. You were hard at work. Things will speed up with practice."

"Oh," she was still in disbelief that she had spent nearly four hours with Severus and it had flown by like minutes. "Well, should I meet you here next Sunday, then?"

"I'll let you know later this week when I'll be available." He said, turning to his things and packing them up with a wave of his wand.

Narcissa began packing her things up by hand, starting to dread the haul back to her potions classroom.

"I'll get those," Severus said, flicking his wand and hoisting her cauldron up into the air. "I have to go by the potions room anyway, I can drop these off."

"I," Narcissa began, "Thank you." She finished. "Would you like me to come with you?"

There was a beat. "If you wish," he replied, making his way out the door.

They walked in silence for a while, making their way up from the dungeons. Narcissa noticed that it was pleasantly un-awkward.

"You don't say much," she mused, as they made their way down the hallway to the potions classroom.

"I often find that words are overrated." He smiled wryly. "You, however, seem happy to use them in abundance."

"Well, I am a girl," she teased.

"Yes," Severus replied, "yes you are."

They made their way inside the classroom and he put down both cauldrons where they belonged and also returned the ingredients and other items they had both used.

"I suppose I'll see you at dinner, then," Narcissa said as they exited the classroom.

"I'm sure you will," Severus agreed, closing the door behind them.

As he turned around, there was a sound of running feet tearing through the hallway. Severus immediately tensed up and drew his wand to his side. Narcissa looked to see who was coming so loudly, then rolled her eyes once she realized who it was.

"Ah! Sevvy, it's your girlfriend again! Catching some snog time in the potions room? How much is she charging you by the hour?"

"Sirius Black, you had better watch your tongue," Narcissa's voice sliced through the hallway. She turned behind her to see Severus with his wand fully drawn to eye level.

"Aw, come on, Sirius," the boy with hazel eyes said, "We can't have any fun with him when she's around. She knows you too well."

"You," Narcissa pointed at the boy, "what is your name? Even though you seem to be incapable of normal behavior, I assume you are not so uncouth as to wander around nameless."

"You can call him Prongs," Sirius joked, and the three boys with him laughed.

"For your information," Narcissa said coldly, "I am having Severus help me with my potion making skills. I need to keep up my marks, and unless I'm mistaken, this is something you're not willing to do. Get help with your school work. Or with your other problems." She jibed.

"You're a nasty little girl," one of the other boys, the shortest of the four, spat out.

"And the four of you are immature, ignorant prats. I've seen you running around the hallways, arrogant and imbecilic. I'm certainly glad you're not in Slytherin – no one would give you the time of day with that behavior. Now if you'll excuse us, we are going to dinner." And with that she stormed by them back down the hall. Severus followed close behind her.

"It's a date, then!" Sirius called out after them.

Narcissa ignored them as they came out into the courtyard and approached the Great Hall doors. As she was about to go inside, Severus stopped her.

"Narcissa," he began, "those boys, your cousin…"

"Are complete idiots," she finished for him, "He's nearly been excommunicated from the family because of his despicable behavior. I can't believe they think it's amusing to run around the school like baboons on a sugar high. How they're not in detention every waking moment is beyond me."

"Narcissa," Severus said forcefully, "I don't need your help."

"My help?" She was confused, "Help with what?"

"With Sirius. And James. And their friends. I can take care of myself." He sounded almost angry.

"I'm sorry," she was truly puzzled, "what are you talking about?"

Severus paused for a moment, then shook his head, "Nothing."

"Do they…pick on you?" She asked, starting to piece things together, the drawn wand, the condescending nickname.

"No…they…we aren't friends." He finished.

"They're complete imbeciles," she stated again, "don't let them bother you."

Severus' eyes seemed to darken, and he quickly said, "I can take care of myself," before he wheeled around and left her standing at the doors to the Great Hall all alone.

Narcissa continued to meet with Severus every few weeks to learn new potions she would have to make in upcoming classes, and to make sure her written work was up to par. She barely felt she had any time for her friends or for herself, as she was still getting help with some of her other subjects. But she was enjoying her time working on her school work, and she especially enjoyed her time with Severus. She noticed that he seemed surly and angry each time they met, but by the end of their sessions, he was much more relaxed and in better spirits. They hadn't run into Sirius and his friends since the day by the Potions classroom, which she supposed contributed to his moods, but she couldn't help wondering if they might be part of the reason he always showed up sour. She wanted to tell her father that Sirius was causing problems at school, but she remembered Severus' face and how emphatically he had told her he could take care of himself, and she didn't want to mess up her marks, especially since the holidays were coming soon, and she didn't want to be on restriction the whole time. She was managing E's and O's in every subject now, but she wondered how long she could keep up with her manic schedule, and even though they were several weeks off, she was beginning to dread the exams.

On the train back to London, she and Alice and some of her other friends planned to spend some time together during a day in the city. She was glad she wouldn't have to spend the entire two weeks cooped up in her house with Bella, and this year Andromeda had been scarce outside of helping her with Herbology. She was either studying, with her own friends, or at Hogsmeade. Narcissa couldn't wait until next year when she would be able to go with everyone else and not get left behind.

The train finally pulled into the station and Narcissa got off, looking around for her parents. She finally spotted them with her sisters and her trunk, and she made her way over, noticing that Bella looked distinctly gloomy. She was surprised at how little she'd seen of her oldest sister this term, but as it was O.W.L. year for her, she assumed she'd been spending all her free time studying; Bella was not the brightest sister. The five of them made their way to the car and were on their way home in no time.

"So how has the term been, girls?" Their mother made small talk as the enchanted ministry car weaved in and out of the traffic.

"It's been fantastic!" Andromeda exploded. "We've been to Hogsmeade twice, and we're learning so much in our new classes. Narcissa, you really have so much to look forward to next year – you get to try some new things and start concentrating on what you really enjoy – it's just splendid!"

"It's good to hear you so enthusiastic about your studies and your friends, dear," her father chimed in. "Narcissa, how is your year going?"

"It's been all right. I've made some new friends and I've been working really hard to keep my marks up. I've been getting some tutoring from some older students."

"Really?" her mother sounded impressed. "Sounds like you might have given the Sorting Hat a bit of a time, choosing where to put you – you sound an awful lot like your sister."

"I just don't want to be on restriction," she admitted. She didn't hate school, but she was definitely not in the same arena as Andromeda when it came to caring about her marks.

"And Bella, how is fifth year? Everything they said it would be?" Her father chuckled.

"Fine." Bella remarked tersely.

"How are your studies?" Her mother prodded.

"Fine." She repeated, with a hint of annoyance.

"Well all right then," their mother conceded that she wasn't going to get any more information out of her.

"Mum," Narcissa asked after a short silence, "Some of my friends wanted to know if I could come to London for a day with them, before Christmas. Just to spend some time in the city and go shopping."

"Which friends?" Her mother inquired.

"Well, there's Alice, she's the girl from Ravenclaw that I've told you about, then there's Emilie and Summer, they're in Slytherin with me. They're all second years."

"I don't know," her mother sounded concerned. "You're only just thirteen, being in London all alone seems a bit dangerous."

"But I won't be alone," Narcissa protested, "And it will only be during the day, we'll be home before dark. Summer said her mother could come pick us up and take us home. It would only be for the day."

"We'll have to see," her mother said cautiously.

"Please?" Narcissa begged.

"We'll see," her father added, and Narcissa knew she would just have to wait a few days to get her answer.

The conversation would have had to end anyway, since the car pulled up to the curb in front of the gates of the Black house. Everyone got out and the house elves made their way to the trunk to get the girls' belongings.

Narcissa managed to talk her parents into letting her go to London for the day with her friends two days before Christmas. They had a wonderful time, and even ran into a few other students from Hogwarts. The Christmas holidays seemed to race by and end long before Narcissa was ready to go back. Before she knew it, though, she was back on the Hogwarts Express, trying to get her mind back into thinking of classes, exams, and everything else that went along with it.

It didn't take long for Narcissa to settle back into the daily grind of school. She finally felt like she was keeping up with her schoolwork and she didn't need help with as many of her lessons. Even her meetings with Severus began to drop off – in part due to his increased self-imposed study time. Narcissa was so impressed with her progress in Potions that one day, during one of their now intermittent meetings, while they were waiting for a potion to coagulate, she asked a question she had been wondering for quite some time.

"Severus, have you thought about what you want to do after Hogwarts?"

Severus looked at her for a moment like she had just spoken some unknown language, and then finally answered carefully, "I believe I'd like to keep my options open for right now."

"Oh, well, I just thought…I mean, I've done so well this year, and last year, with you helping me, I mean, I've learned more from you than some of my professors. I just thought you might be thinking of becoming a teacher. You're much more interesting than Professor Slughorn."

Severus started at her in astonishment, mouth slightly ajar. "Teacher?" He finally managed to get out, "Oh no," he shook his head vehemently, "I loathe children, I couldn't possibly stand being around them all day, trying to teach them while they whine, cleaning up their messes, they don't pay attention."

"Well, I'm just saying you might want to make up your mind," Narcissa joked. "So you loathe children – does that mean you don't want to ever, you know, get married?"

Severus darted his eyes to the floor and folded his arms across his chest. "I don't think I'd make a very good…husband."

"Why not?" Narcissa scoffed, "You're smart, witty, dedicated, and even though I know you think I don't see it, you really are quite nice." She smiled at him as he brought his eyes up from the floor.

Severus seemed speechless, or at least chose not to say anything to her comment. Their conversation was halted by the purple smoke curling out of the cauldron, letting them know the potion was complete. Severus stood up without a word and corked some of it, handing it over to Narcissa to turn in the next day for her homework. He cleaned the rest out of the pot with his wand and packed his things up. Earlier last year, Narcissa would have been offended by his silence. Now she knew that it was just Severus being Severus. But as he came to the door to leave, he turned back around to face her.

"You," he said deliberately, "are unique."

Narcissa was unsure of what to say to that, but he continued.

"You could run circles around your sister, but you leave her to herself. You could easily be the center of attention anywhere you go, but you choose the background or even solitude. Your company," he paused, "is most enjoyable, and you will be a great witch." He finished, and then left before she could reply.

Narcissa stood there, amazed at what she had just heard. Severus did not give complements lightly, nor did he use words when facial expressions would do. Narcissa felt something strange in her stomach, and it took her a moment before she was able to move again, picking up her belongings and heading back to her common room to change for dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Hogsmeade

Narcissa's hard work paid off at exam time. She was sure her marks would rival Andromeda's. She had to admit to herself that it felt quite nice being able to share her grades confidently, knowing she would be able to have a good summer, not being in trouble.

Summer passed without any real incident. The Black family went on a holiday to the south of France, where Andromeda and Narcissa enjoyed themselves thoroughly on the beach, but Bella sat alone in the shade, morose and covered up. She had, amazingly, been able to manage 6 OWLs, so she wasn't restricted, but Narcissa couldn't figure out why she was so glum. She didn't pay much attention, though, and by the time summer holidays were over, all Narcissa could think about was the permission slip for Hogsmeade.

September first finally came and all three girls made their way onto the Hogwarts Express. The train ride was uneventful, and Narcissa thought it seemed a bit shorter than usual, perhaps because she was so comfortable in her third year. She had decided to keep her class schedule pretty much the same, although Alice had bulked up her class load.

"It's never too early to start thinking about what you want to do after Hogwarts, you know," she had said to Narcissa in Diagon Alley when they were getting their supplies for the upcoming year. "Just in case I decide I want to be an Auror, I want to have the foundations in all the necessary courses."

"I suppose I haven't really thought about what I might want to do," Narcissa had mused. "I think it might be fun to be a healer, or something like that. I don't much fancy running around after people trying to catch the bad guys."

So Narcissa saw less and less of Alice as her homework began to pile up, and more and more of her Slytherin housemates. Finally, around Halloween, the first Hogsmeade trip rolled around. Narcissa had tried to find Alice to go with her, but she was nowhere to be found, even in the Great Hall during dinner the night before the trip. Narcissa almost didn't want to go if she was going to have to go alone, but she certainly didn't want to forfeit her chance to finally get to see the wizarding village.

She had even asked Summer and Emilie if they wanted to go, but Summer was in the infirmary with the flu and Emilie had let her homework pile up all week, so neither of them were going.

Narcissa was sitting quite alone at the end of the Slytherin table as dinner began when she was suddenly joined by a large group of people.

"Do you mind if we join you?" Lucius smiled as he sat, not waiting for Narcissa to respond. A plate appeared in front of him and he began to take food for dinner from the center of the table.

"Hello Narcissa," a familiar voice greeted her from across the table.

"Rodolphus!" Narcissa smiled back at him, remembering him from the winter visit nearly two years ago.

"We couldn't help but notice you were all alone over here," Palonius began.

"Where are all your…friends?" Lucius wondered, sipping his drink.

Bella, whom Narcissa had now just noticed was in the group, sitting on the other side of Lucius, swallowed what sounded like a laugh, but Lucius shot her a look and she quieted, a sour look growing on her face.

"Well, one's in the infirmary, one's studying, one's in Ravenclaw, and the others…" she paused, realizing quite embarrassingly, that she didn't really have any other friends. "The others are…"

"We're here," Lucius finished for her, smiling. "Tell us, surely you are going to Hogsmeade tomorrow, even though your other friends are…indisposed?"

"Oh, well, I didn't want to go alone, since I've never been there before…" she started.

"Nonsense," Lucius stated quickly. "You'll come with us. We'll show you all the important places. Now that you're old enough, we can all go together."

There was murmured assent from the group, except from Bella, who Narcissa noticed still looked like she had swallowed a rather large bezoar.

"You're all going, then?" Narcissa confirmed, half hoping that Bella had some sort of studying to do.

"Not me," Severus stated between small bites of his pie, "I have far too much work to do for OWLs. Although I do hope you have a good time," he inclined his head to Narcissa.

"Oh Severus," Narcissa was sorry he didn't want to come with them – of all the people in the group, he was the one she knew best and liked the most. "You have to come – surely your studies can wait just a few hours?"

Everyone looked at Severus. "How could you say no to that, Severus?" Lucius teased.

"Please?" Narcissa put on a pouty face and tried not to laugh.

Severus rolled his eyes and sighed, "Oh all right, I suppose I could use a few ingredients for my Potions store." He shook his head and almost, Narcissa noticed, cracked a smile.

The next day the group met at the edge of the castle grounds to make their way to Hogsmeade. Narcissa was surprised it was a rather large group; she counted at least ten, not including herself. She supposed there had been more that weren't at the table last night, like Damarcus, who was now with them. They passed Andromeda and her friends on their way, and Narcissa waved, although she couldn't stop to say hello. Lucius was at the front of the group with Bella tagging along by his side. Narcissa was walking next to Severus in the middle of the pack, and although they weren't saying much, Narcissa felt much more comfortable knowing she had someone she could talk to besides Bella or Lucius.

They spent the day going to all sorts of different stores, buying candy and other trinkets. Narcissa hadn't had so much fun since she could remember. At the end of the day, Lucius wanted to go see the Shrieking Shack. Severus said he would take that opportunity to go buy his supplies.

"There's nothing to see there," he said in a low voice to Narcissa just before he split off from the group. "Lucius has some strange fascination with it, though. I've seen it plenty of times, no need for one more trip."

"They say there's werewolves in there," Lucius said in a persuasive voice, hoping to get Severus to stay with them.

Severus tensed for a moment and a dark look flashed through his eyes, making Narcissa wonder if perhaps he was afraid of werewolves.

"No thanks," he said loudly as he turned away from them, "I'll see you back at the castle." And he left them at the edge of the woods.

The group made their way down the path to the fence on the cliff and looked across to the Shack. Lucius made his way next to Narcissa, clearly excited to tell her all about the legends of the Shack.

"I'm sure there has to be a way in," he was saying, although Narcissa wasn't too interested. Severus was right, it was pretty boring. They couldn't even get close to it. "All sorts of noises at night," he continued.

"It seems pretty quiet now," she said. "Although, that may be because we're so far away."

"Let's try to get closer," he said, taking her hand and walking to the edge of the fence.

"Are you mad?" She asked incredulously, "That cliff must have a two-hundred foot drop!"

"We're wizards, aren't we?" He smiled and went for his wand.

"Don't you think we should be getting back?" Bella's voice cut across the clearing.

"There's plenty of time," Lucius turned around and answered her.

"It's getting dark," she snapped.

"She's probably right," Rodolphus concurred. "We might want to head back. Try again next time."

Lucius looked at Narcissa, but she didn't say anything. He turned to look again at the shack, then dropped her hand. "All right, next time then." And he started back on the path towards the village.

As she followed the group, Narcissa passed Bella, who was hanging back. "Um, thanks," she said quietly.

"I didn't do it for you," Bella said nastily, and then hurried up to the front to walk with Lucius.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Incidents

If muggles had the opportunity to store their memories for later use and look back at them, they would often see that there are chains of events that, at the time, seem unrelated, but in retrospect, are all intricately connected and have a profound effect on each other and the future. This was the case with Narcissa over the next several months. Little incidents here and there, that she thought little of, would become woven together in a fabric that she would later reflect on and curse herself for not recognizing.

The first of these incidents happened near exam time right before Christmas holidays. Narcissa was studying in the library in a secluded corner when she heard two people down the aisle next to her arguing. It didn't take her long to realize it was Bella and Lucius.

"But we have to start thinking about it," Bella was pleading. "I know my parents are going to start talking about it during Christmas holidays. I want to be able to tell them what you think."

"Bella, you know exactly what I think," Lucius said coldly. "You are wasting your time."

"But it's not fair!" She sounded close to tears.

"Keep your voice down," Lucius ordered. "It's not my place to make those kinds of decisions, and even if it were, I don't think we are at all…" Lucius stopped short.

"I don't understand," Bella sounded desperate. "Is it because of _her_? Just tell me why. You could say one word – one word to your father, and it would be done. Just tell me why."

"I feel no obligation to tell you anything. And if you want our…friendship…to continue, I suggest you drop this matter immediately. And I suggest you start preparing yourself. You have quite a bit to do in the next 18 months if you are to be ready. You're somewhat behind the rest of us."

It was silent for a moment, then Bella spoke with forced resolve. "Fine. But I swear to you, if this is because of her, I will never speak to you again."

Narcissa heard Bella storm out and Lucius call out after her, "Your loss."

Narcissa couldn't even begin to know what they were talking about. She only knew that Bella had sounded more desperate than she'd ever heard her, and more upset. She also knew that Lucius seemed to enjoy making her miserable. It was one of the many qualities he possessed that she did not admire. But she soon forgot about the incident and Christmas holidays came and went. The Lestranges came by again and Bella turned positively comatose, but Narcissa didn't think to connect it with anything.

The final months after Christmas holidays flew by, and it was only a few days before exams and the end of term when the second major (although it didn't seem so at the time) incident occurred. Narcissa was on her way back from the library and headed back to the common room to change for dinner when she passed by an empty classroom and heard two voices that she recognized. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she pressed her ear against the door and listened carefully.

"It's really something you should give serious thought to, Severus," the voice said. Narcissa immediately recognized Lucius' trademark tenor. "You don't want to be left out in the cold, and the time is coming when there will be two distinct groups – those in the warmth, who are safe, and those who are left in the cold to fend for themselves."

"I'm not so sure that this is the…path that is best for me," Severus answered. "As you have told me so many times, this is a permanent situation we are getting ourselves into; the decision should not be made lightly."

"I am well aware of that," Lucius snapped. "While you make your decision, he has asked me to extend an invitation to you – he would like to meet you. He is most intrigued by you."

"No thanks to you, I assume," Severus sighed.

"Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth, Severus. Everyone else has made their decision except you. You are younger than we are, so it is understandable. But time is running out. Think about it."

"I appreciate your concern," Severus said in an almost sarcastic tone, "I will let you know when I make my decision."

Narcissa sensed that their conversation was coming to a close, so she backed away from the door quickly and made her way to the common room, hoping neither of them would see her and suspect anything.

The third incident happened during the OWLs, and it was something Narcissa knew she would never forget the rest of her life. It was the day of the Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL, and she was out in the courtyard studying for her own exams, which would begin the next week. People started to trickle out from the written portion of the exam, and she was looking for Severus to see how it had gone for him. She knew he had been anxious about it, as it was the subject he was most passionate about, which was saying a lot, since she knew his love for Potions. She finally saw him come out with the crowd, and she began to get up to make her way towards him when she heard someone yell out and Severus whirl around to face them. The next few things happened so fast Narcissa almost couldn't follow them. But she was able to see who was involved. Her cousin and his group of friends were fighting with Severus, and before she knew it, he was on the ground.

Narcissa was about to go over and help – against her better judgment – she hadn't forgotten what Severus has said about him being able to handle himself. But she didn't have to because a girl had come over and tried to break up the fight. Narcissa thought she looked familiar, and she finally placed her as the Gryffindor she had met her first year as Severus was going to Potions class. She had been distracted long enough that she missed part of the fight, but she now realized, horrified, that Severus was dangling upside down in the air. He came crashing down and started yelling at the girl and then, she saw the girl storm off and the boys turn back on Severus, ready to inflict more torture. She had to think fast. If she went over to help Severus, she knew he would never forgive her. But she couldn't just let her cousin and his malicious friends do this to Severus, and no one else seemed to want to help, and there wasn't a teacher in sight. She dug into her satchel and tried to find something, when her hand clasped around an ink well. She uncorked it quickly and was relieved to find it full. She smiled and waved her wand on top of it and sent it floating over to the group of boys.

The first head the ink dumped on was Sirius. He let out a shriek, and it was enough to get the other three to stop humiliating Severus for a moment. Then the inkwell made its way over to James and poured out all over his shirt, but instead of just coming out in a blot, the ink spelled itself into the phrase, "I'm a mean git and no one likes me."

"Hey!" James shouted, trying to rub the ink off his shirt, but it only got all over his hands and the wording didn't change. The inkwell made its way over to the other two, writing similar phrases on them. The boys and the rest of the crowd were so distracted that none of them saw Severus crawl away. But Narcissa did see it, and she went after him, leaving the enchanted inkwell to do its job.

Severus was running down the corridor, straightening his robes, and Narcissa was trying to keep up with him, but he had a bit of a head start on her. He was making his way toward the dungeons, Narcissa realized, and he finally ducked into one of them, slamming the door shut. She caught up with him, but paused, her hand hovering over the door handle. She realized he might want a minute, so she waited. At first she didn't hear anything, but then, she was able to make out a soft noise that she recognized as crying.

She slowly pushed open the door and heard movement from inside. By the time she had the door opened all the way and was inside, the dungeon seemed empty. She shut the door behind her and made her way to the center of the room.

"Severus?" She called softly, looking around to see where he might have gone. "Severus, I know you're in here."

"Go away," his voice echoed against the stone walls.

"Severus, please, I'd really like to talk."

"Now is not a good time," he said, still not showing himself.

"I know," she said, back to the empty room. "Then you can just listen."

Severus didn't say anything back to her, so she took that as an ok to speak, only, she wasn't really sure what to say. "I," she began, "I can't believe what I just saw. Do those boys, do they do that to you all the time?"

Narcissa made her way to one of the chairs and sat down, facing the front of the room. "It's not right, you know, what they do. I can't believe one of them is actually my cousin. It makes me sick to think I'm related to that. Normally I might tell you to go to a teacher or something, but I know you can't. It's like when my sister does things to me. Bella," she clarified. "Pushes me down the stairs, yanks out my hair, threatens to kill me. I know telling my parents will only make it worse. So I tell Andromeda, my other sister. And it helps. I mean, she still beats me up, but at least I have someone to talk about it with. And sometimes we get her back."

Narcissa paused for a moment. "Severus, you have to do something. They could really hurt you. It's not right to gang up on someone, four on one. You don't deserve that. You're too kind, too brilliant, if they did something to…no one deserves that. Especially you."

"You were there?" Severus made Narcissa jump. He had come out of his hiding spot and was right behind her. She turned around, nodding. "You saw everything?" She nodded again. He averted his eyes, embarrassed.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," she said strongly, "Those boys, Sirius and his…gang, they're the ones who should be ashamed. They probably torture small animals and enjoy it."

Severus sat down next to her, and put his head in his hands, "Then you were the one, the ink well…"

"I hope you're not angry," she said genuinely.

"No," he said quickly, "No, thank you. It was very…tactful. I don't know what they would have done if you hadn't…stopped it."

"That girl tried to stop it, why did you yell at her? I thought you were friends?"

"Lily? I shouldn't have yelled at her. I need to go apologize. But she only made it worse."

"A girl fighting for you. I understand. But you didn't have to call her that."

"Call her what?" He didn't seem to remember exactly what he said.

"Mudblood. I've never heard you use words like that before. It's not like you."

"I really said that to her? She's going to be so angry with me. I need to give her some time to cool off."

"I didn't think you believed in all the pure-blood rubbish."

"Narcissa," Severus sighed, looking very tired, "There's so much you don't know about me." He paused. "I don't…believe that. That nonsense. But it's all around, you know? It's easy, to get caught up."

"Are you all right?" she was still concerned about his fall.

"I'll be fine," he said wearily. "I just have to study for this afternoon's practical for Defense." He got up to leave.

Narcissa stopped him, "Are you…you know, are you pure-blood?"

"Does it matter?" He asked, looking deep into her eyes.

"Not to me," she said, "but it does to some people." Thinking about her own family, and the people with whom her family was involved.

"But you're the only one that matters." He said softly, and then he left the dungeon, keeping the door open for her.

The last incident happened the day before end of term. Narcissa came into the common room and made her way toward the couch where she saw Lucius and Severus. She had just finished her Potions final and wanted to tell Severus about it. She caught the tail end of their conversation before they noticed she was there.

"I want to do it," Severus was saying.

"You're sure," Lucius said, "you've had enough time to…think…about it?"

"Don't mock me," Severus retorted. "I want to do it. Just tell me what I need to do."

"I'll be in touch." Lucius said, then turned around, "Narcissa! What a pleasant surprise! And how have your exams gone?"

"Fine thanks, I just did my Potions," she turned to Severus. "It went really well, thanks to you."

"Ah, yes, Severus' tireless efforts have one again proved useful," Lucius smiled and clapped Severus on the shoulder, then stood up. "Time for dinner?" He held his arm out as he made his way around the couch, leading Narcissa out of the common room, Severus still on the couch, alone.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – The Announcement

For Narcissa, her fourth year was all about OWL preparation. Her professors never stopped talking about it, Andromeda never missed a chance to say something about it whenever she saw Narcissa, and Bella and her friends were in quite a state, trying to get ready for their NEWTs and still have fun their last year in the castle. Narcissa felt like she was suffocating under test anxiety, and she hadn't really even the difficult fifth year classes.

At least there was the trip to Hogsmeade, which lightened things up mid-term, but then exams came near Christmas and everyone went home. Looking back, Narcissa realized she should have seen it coming, but the news came as a complete shock to her two days before Christmas when she heard Bella in hysterics, screaming at her parents.

"Please don't make me," she cried. "I don't want to, I really, really don't want to."

"It's not a discussion," her father said without sympathy, "it has already been decided. The arrangements have been made."

"But I don't…I don't even like him, let alone love him. How could you force me to marry someone I don't even like?"

Narcissa turned to Andromeda, "Marry? Bella's getting married?"

"How did you not know this?" Andromeda looked incredulous.

"Who's she getting married to?" Narcissa wondered out loud.

"Why do you think the Lestranges have been visiting us for like, two years?" Andromeda said, rolling her eyes.

"She's marrying Rodolphus? When?"

"This summer, I expect, he's already working at the Ministry since he passed his NEWTs in the spring. It'll probably happen some time in July."

"Why are they making her? She obviously doesn't want to." Narcissa was a bit worried about what the answer to her question meant for her own future.

"That's how it works for us lucky, lucky pure-blood women," Andromeda said sarcastically. "The men get to make all the decisions and we get to reap the rewards."

"But why doesn't she just refuse? I mean, they can't really _make_ her, can they? They can't force her to walk down the aisle."

"She could refuse," Andromeda said, flipping the pages of her Astronomy text and not looking up, "and then she would be excommunicated from the family and have to live a life of solitude, completely on her own, without help from anyone. Does Bella really seem like someone who could, or would want to take care of herself?"

"They'd throw us out? Mum and dad would never do that."

"Wouldn't they? Look at Sirius. He lives with some friend now, he's not even allowed to set foot in the house."

"Yeah, but his mum's barking. Our parents would never kick us out." Narcissa was convinced.

"Let's hope we never have to find out," Andromeda said.

The rest of the holidays, Bella was in constant tears, begging her parents to reconsider, throwing out names of boys she would rather spend her life with. Not surprisingly, Lucius was one of the first.

"We've been friends our whole time at Hogwarts. We at least like each other. Couldn't you ask his father?"

"Even if I thought that would be a beneficial match for our family, I can not approach anyone. They have to come to me."

"So this," Bella looked sick. "This was the best you could find."

"No," her father gave her a dark look, "this was the best that wanted you."

Bella was suddenly silent. Narcissa and Andromeda looked at each other. Narcissa actually felt bad for Bella. She had never heard her father say something that cruel; it was like he was a different person.

"You will marry Rodolphus," her father directed Bella, who was quite pale. "You will not complain for another second. You will not ask to marry anyone else. You will be grateful that a family like the Lestranges are willing to take you as their daughter. And you will do the best that you can to be a good wife to Rodolphus so that you do not damage the reputation of this family or the chance for your sisters to make good matches. Is that clear?"

Bella could only manage a faint nod before turning and running upstairs to her room.

The rest of the evening was spent in uncomfortable silence, and Narcissa found herself thankful that the next day they got to go back to Hogwarts.

It didn't take long for the news to spread that Bella would be marrying Rodolphus Lestrange in the coming months. Her friends all seemed happy for her, they kept telling her what a good family he came from and that he really was a nice person, with a good job, and that she would be happy. Bella didn't ever look convinced. Narcissa was also unfortunate enough, in her mind, to be present for the conversation between Lucius and Bella about the engagement.

"I hear congratulations are in order," Lucius said in an almost taunting voice.

"I don't see why you should be congratulating me," she bit back.

"You have a lovely life ahead of you," Lucius stated, "a respectable family, a providing husband, I'm sure you'll make an excellent mother," he said sarcastically.

"I don't like children," she spat.

"Well, maybe you'll get lucky and Rodolphus won't either," he smirked. "Although, it would be…entertaining…to see you try and nurture something."

"This is all your fault," she said accusingly. "You made this happen."

"Me?" Lucius said with near-genuine surprise. "How could I possibly have had anything to do with this?"

"Then who are you marrying this summer?" She asked triumphantly.

"My father hasn't chosen anyone for me yet." He said simply.

"You haven't chosen anyone for you, you mean," Bella said nastily, then spun around and glared at Narcissa. "Or have you?"

Lucius began to laugh, "Your sister? Good heavens, I certainly don't think my father wants me to wait that long before I take a wife. That would be another three and a half years. No, I think you're still living in a fantasy, Bella. It would do you good to snap out of it." He finished coldly.

Narcissa caught up with Severus one night after dinner on their way back from the Great Hall. They took a detour outside into the courtyard.

"So your sister," he said.

"Yeah, can you believe it? I really can't picture her as anyone's wife."

"Me neither," Severus let his famous thin-lipped smile show.

"She's really upset. She really, really wanted to marry Lucius."

"I know. That was never going to happen, though." Severus looked out to the horizon where the sun was setting.

"He's your best friend, isn't he?" Narcissa asked softly.

"Yes," Severus kept his eyes to the sunset. "I suppose he is."

"Bella thinks he somehow orchestrated this…this match between her and Rodolphus. Is that true? That can't be true, can it?"

"Lucius," Severus paused, "Lucius leads a very…complicated life. He is…extraordinarily powerful. When he wants something…he gets it."

"But what does he want? Obviously not my sister."

"You'll have to ask him that yourself." Severus answered. Then he got up and made his way back inside, Narcissa behind him.

"What about you?" She asked. "What do you want? Are you being put into some sort of match? Being promised to anyone?"

Severus stopped and turned around, a faint, sad smile on his face. "My family is not in the position to…match me with anyone." And he continued on his way.

"Severus," she called after him, and he stopped again, turning around to face her. "Then you could…match yourself with someone, right? I mean, surely you must be thinking about that…about someone?"

Severus smiled softly, looking at her sweetly as though she were a small child. He opened his mouth to say something, then shook his head and turned around, walking away.

"Severus," she called out again, but he did not stop this time. "Severus!" She tried one last time, then made her way back to the common room, the opposite direction.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – The Wedding

The year wound down and before she knew it, Narcissa was packing her things to go back home for the summer holidays. The train ride home was spent mostly saying goodbye to her friends, and hearing from people who would be coming to Bella's and Rodolphus' wedding. It seemed like a lot of students' families had been invited, many of whom she did not know. She heard some talk of other weddings, too, and wondered if her family had been invited to any.

They finally got to the train station and met their parents. As they were leaving, she couldn't help but notice how so many people, especially the muggles, seemed extra cautious, and a bit frightened.

"Has something happened?" Narcissa asked her parents once they were in the safety of their ministry automobile.

"Haven't you picked up the Daily Prophet lately?" Andromeda asked with a hint of disdain. "Don't you read the news?"

"Um, not really," Narcissa said. The news was usually boring, and Narcissa felt there were far better ways to spend her time.

"There have been all sorts of incidents over the past few months. Things happening to muggles, to the city, things that are hard to explain. The muggles are starting to get really scared. The Prophet says there's a wizard who's named himself 'Lord Voldemort' or something ridiculous. They say he's in charge of the things that are happening, that he's gathering a following, that he wants to take over the…"

"Shut up!" Bella's voice sliced through the end of Andromeda's sentence. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Excuse me," Andromeda said boldly, "I am just reporting what was in the paper."

"That's enough, Andi," their father said smoothly. "And I would like to not hear that name spoken again in our house."

"What?" Bella's eyes grew wide, "But…I…He…"

Their mother cut her off, "It isn't respectful."

Bella seemed placated. But Narcissa was even more confused. Her parents didn't seem worried about these things, and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"We're not in any danger, are we?" She asked tentatively.

"Of course not, darling," her mother said without turning around. "We're on the right side of things."

The next few weeks seemed like a blur. There were people coming and going, mostly to see Bella or their parents, but some of Andromeda's and Narcissa's friends came by, too. The wedding was coming together quickly, and it seemed like the day arrived without warning.

People started showing up early in the morning on the day of the wedding, making their way to the back yard. There was already lots of food set up for the guests, and hundreds and hundreds of chairs in place. There weren't any fancy decorations or flowers, which didn't surprise Narcissa. Bella wasn't that kind of girl. She didn't want the wedding in the first place, so she certainly wouldn't want it to be frilly and girly and silly. In fact, Narcissa hadn't even seen any kind of wedding dress, and she wasn't shocked to find out that Bella would be wearing her dress robes, which were, of course, black. Narcissa felt that the wedding would seem like more of a funeral, knowing how distraught Bella was going to be, but there wasn't anything she could do about it, so she just tried to stay out of the way.

She was in her best robes, too, when people she knew finally started arriving. The whole Black family was there, minus Sirius, although that didn't cause any heartache for Narcissa, who would have tried to kill him had he been there. Her mother's family was all there, too, all her cousins, back several generations. And other families with her friends had come – the Malfoys had shown up with Lucius and Damarcus, and Narcissa finally got to see Mrs. Malfoy, whom she had never met. The only person who really surprised Narcissa with their presence showed up just a few minutes before the ceremony began. Narcissa had been given the duty of opening the door for people and she was about to go back and get ready to walk down to the seats with her family when she heard someone knock.

"Severus!" She exclaimed when she saw who was at the door. "You never mentioned you were coming!"

"I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it." He said. "Am I late?"

"No, it hasn't started yet, here, let me take you back, I have to go anyway. How was your trip here?"

"Not too bad," he said quietly, as they made their way outside.

"There aren't too many seats left, but I'm sure you can find one, maybe towards the back. I have to run now; it's almost time to start."

"Thank you," he said, his eyes searching for an empty chair.

Narcissa went back into the house where her mother, father, and sisters were waiting. Her mother waved her wand and Narcissa's hair was instantly in a magnificent updo and her makeup was perfect. She did the same for Andromeda and for herself. Narcissa looked at Bella, who did not look at all like she was about to get married. Her hair was hung straight down, she didn't seem to have any make-up on, and she definitely wasn't smiling or blushing.

"For goodness sake, Bellatrix," her father admonished, "put some effort forth. There are hundreds of our friends – important friends out there. We don't want them to think you just rolled out of bed."

Bella glared at him spoke to him in a vicious voice that frightened Narcissa. "This is my wedding day. After today, you will have no power over me. I am not doing this to impress any friends of yours, I am doing this for me and for my future. After today, I won't have to answer to you, I will only have to answer to him. You forced me into this, and now you will reap what you sow. Don't you dare try and tell me how to look. You have no right. You go out there and impress your friends. Parade around the rest of your family. I no longer belong to you."

Everyone was speechless. Narcissa couldn't believe that Bella had just spoken like that to her father. Andromeda and their mother looked equally as appalled. But their father seemed almost proud, and not angry at all.

"Shall we go then?" He said, turning to his wife and other two daughters.

Rodolphus' family made their way down the aisle to their seats, Rodolphus walking last, down to the front where there was an altar-type stand, covered in the green and silver colors of Slytherin.

Narcissa, because she was the youngest, had to lead her family out to their seats. She was not at all happy about having to walk in front of all the guests, of which she guessed there must be nearly five hundred.

"Go on, it'll be over soon," Andromeda whispered to her, giving her a nudge.

All eyes were on Narcissa as she made her way slowly through the freshly cut grass to the front row of seats. She stared straight ahead trying desperately not to make eye contact with anyone. As she made her way to the front, she caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head slightly and saw that Severus had found a seat next to the Malfoys. Their eyes met, and she smiled with relief. They were right on the aisle, and she overheard a snippet of conversation between Lucius and his father.

"Don't you agree?" Lucius was saying, his eyes locked on Narcissa.

"I see now what you mean. I understand completely." His father said back to him, his eyes also boring through her.

She quickly looked away and prayed that the end would come sooner. She finally made it to the front and walked over to her seat, staying standing as she watched Andromeda and her parents walk the same walk she had just done. Then, once they were seated, the rest of the crowd stood, and watched silently as Bella came down to the front. There wasn't any music, and the only sound Narcissa could hear was the soft wind blowing through the trees. It seemed very stoic – not at all like a celebration. Then again, Narcissa could understand what Bella must be feeling.

Finally, Bella joined Rodolphus at the front. Narcissa suddenly realized there was no one else there who might be performing the ceremony. She had never been to a wedding before, but she had read and heard about them, and she knew that someone had to actually join them together. Suddenly, there was a faint pop, and a figure appeared in front of them. Some people seemed startled – Narcissa certainly was – and there began a faint murmuring throughout the crowd. Narcissa heard whispers of "He's here?" and "How impressive." She thought maybe she should know who this person was, but since she couldn't see his face, as he was completely covered by a black hooded cloak, she had no chance of recognizing him.

The man pulled his wand out of his robes. His hand was unnaturally thin, Narcissa thought, and exceptionally pale. He pointed the wand at Rodolphus.

"Say the vows," the man whispered, almost hissing. Narcissa was sure that no one beyond the first two rows could hear him.

"I, Rodolphus Mantolla Lestrange, take Bellatrix Black as my wife on this day. I consent to our binding and vow to provide for her and care for her until the binds break."

Then he pointed the wand at Bella.

She began to speak without prompting. "I, Bellatrix Anapharite Black, take Rodolphus Lestrange as my husband on this day." She paused for a brief second, blinked, and then continued. "I consent to our binding and vow to honor him until the binds break."

Then, the two joined hands across each other, and the man began to speak in words Narcissa could not understand.

"Phasmatis universum , redimio illa duos anima." He waved his wand and a white strand shot out of it, wrapping itself around their crossed hands.

"Permissum redimio exsisto validus quod validus." He waved the wand again, and a bright green strand shot out, winding around the white strand and their hands.

"Permissum vir quod mulier anima exsisto tied una pro infinitio." He waved the wand a third time and a silver swirl shot out, making its way around their hands. Narcissa was captivated, and a bit frightened as she saw both Bella and Rodolphus close their eyes and throw their heads back. Their bodies began to lift off the ground, and the man never lowered his wand as they rose nearly two feet into the air and began to spin around. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they came back down and the binds disappeared and they were able to let go of each other. Narcissa thought that must be the end of it, but the man stayed and no one else moved.

"And now, to complete the transformation," the hooded man whisphered.

Bella and Rodolphus exchanged heavy looks and then turned to face the man. They got down on their knees and bowed before him. Narcissa was definitely confused and began to look around. Some of the people seemed just as puzzled as she was, but most of them kept watching, as if it was a normal part of the wedding.

The man began to speak again, and Narcissa could not longer follow what he was saying. "Vos probo vestri fidelitas, quod es iungo nex. Per vestri nex vos vadum orior oriri ortus ut vox mihi. Sanctimonia vestri cruor vadum exsisto remuneror. Vestri anima es iam mei." Narcissa watched as a dark cloud formed over the three of them, swirling about and forming itself into what looked like a serpent. The man continued, "Extend your right arm," he ordered, and the pair did so. "Vox domus Slytherin est super vos. Vos es meus vernula. Pugna pro sanctimonia. Pugna pro vox. Pugna! Pugna! Pugna!" And with that, he touched his wand to Rodolphus' arm and shouted, "Morsmorde! Nex signum, partum vestri!" And Rodolphus began to convulse in what seemed to Narcissa like extreme pain, his face turning red. Then, the wand moved over to Bella's arm. The man repeated his curse, and Bella let out a howl of agony. Narcissa wanted to jump up and scream for someone to stop this terror, but as she looked around, almost no one else, except Andromeda, seemed to be upset. In fact, she saw that most people, including Lucius and his father, seemed to be enjoying it. Severus, she noticed, however, was looking down at the ground.

Finally, the ceremony was over, and the man spoke again, "Rise, Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange. May your days of service lead you both to eternal glory." And with that, he disapparated with a pop, and then there was a thunderous applause that broke out from the crowd.

Andromeda, who was as white as a sheet, turned to Narcissa and asked breathlessly, "What the bloody hell was that?"

Narcissa, traumatized, whispered back, "I don't have any idea, but if that's what I can expect at my wedding, I am staying single."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Growing Up

The rest of the day was spent eating and drinking and making important social conversation. At least, it was for most people. Narcissa had spent some brief minutes being introduced to some guests by her mother, then had said she didn't feel too well, and had asked to go inside.

As soon as she was in the door, she undid her dress robes and let down her hair and made her way to the stairs, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. She was taken aback when she saw someone sitting on them, in her way.

"Severus," she asked, wiping her eyes, and he jerked his head up, "What are you doing in here? You should be out with your friends, enjoying the party."

"I'm not much for parties," he said. "Are you feeling all right? You don't look well."

"What just happened out there?" Narcissa pleaded. "Who was that man? What did he do to my sister? Why didn't anyone else seem to think that wasn't normal?"

Severus looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he took her hands and pulled her down next to him on the stair. He looked worried and tired at the same time, but finally, he spoke.

"I should not be the one telling you this, but you look petrified," he seemed extremely concerned. "Normally, underage wizards aren't supposed to see that…ceremony, but this was an exception. You and your sister are family to Bella, and the other families had prepared their children for what was about to happen. Your parents didn't tell you anything?"

Narcissa shook her head. "I can't imagine what they were thinking, not preparing you for that." He looked angry, but he continued with the same silky voice that always comforted Narcissa. "That man, he…have you ever heard of…his name is Lord Voldemort."

"Oh," Narcissa recognized the name, "Andi told me about him – he's been doing all sorts of things to muggles, scaring them, he's on some sort of power trip."

Severus shook his head, "He's not on a power trip; he's the real thing. He's the most powerful wizard in the world, and he's building an army to take it over."

"Take over the world," Narcissa was baffled. "Like, London?"

"No," Severus said gently, "he wants the world to be…a pure world. No muggles, no half-bloods, no squibs. Just pure bloods, like it used to be in the beginning."

"Well that's ridiculous, of course there have to be muggles, and those other people. Where would they go? What, is he just going to round them up and kill them?" She asked jokingly. When Severus' look darkened, she gasped, "He wants to kill them? He can't kill all those people, he'll be put in Azkaban!"

"He's…the dementors…I can't explain it, I'm not allowed. But your sister and her husband, they've joined him. Almost everyone out there has – maybe not completely, like Bella and Rodolphus, but they agree with him and want to stand behind him."

"But you don't," Narcissa sputtered, "You're not, Severus, you can't be one of them…are you?"

"Do you remember what I said once, about how easy it is to get caught up in things? You make…choices," he looked away from her, letting go of her hands, "and those choices lead to other choices, and then there's no turning back."

"But that's not you," she said. "You're not a murderer."

"You don't know me," he said angrily, but then seemed regretful when she looked hurt by his tone. "I'm sorry, I just…Narcissa, promise me something." She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. "Promise me that you'll stay strong. That no matter what, you won't be talked into what Bella did. Joining him. And promise me this: that no matter what you think about this, about him, that you will keep your thoughts to yourself."

"But it's not right," she edged in.

"Keep them," he said emphatically, "to yourself. Keep yourself safe. Please…you have no idea what's happening. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Their eyes locked and he looked desperately at her. The moment seemed to take a year, and Narcissa felt a strange feeling welling up in her stomach. Her body seemed to lean towards him, moving of its own accord. Then, suddenly, he tore his eyes away and stood up.

"I'll see you at school, then," he said briskly. He put his hand on the doorknob to leave, but turned around once more to face her. "You looked beautiful today," he said, and the next second, he was gone.

The rest of the summer was spent helping Bella move out of the house. Once she was finally gone, Narcissa noticed how empty it seemed. But that feeling of emptiness was nothing compared to how she felt when she arrived at Hogwarts. There were only a few people left from Bella's group of friends, like Severus, Damarcus, and Palonius. Their group was smaller now, and took up much less room at the Slytherin table during meals. Andromeda was almost nowhere to be found, except the library, where she was already studying for her NEWTs, having managed 10 OWLs the previous year.

Not that Narcissa had much time for other people; she was busy working her tail off preparing for her OWLs. She had dropped some of her subjects, like History of Magic and Divination, but she was seriously thinking about being a healer, so she knew she had to keep Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Potions, even though those three weren't her best or favorite subjects. Thankfully, she was good at and liked Charms, Astronomy, and Care of Magical Creatures. She figured if she could make 7 OWLs, (she had to include Transfiguration in there), her parents would be satisfied and she could continue on the path to being a healer.

Taking all that into account, she had an extraordinary amount of work, and she was only able to see her friends if she had class with them or during meal times. She was actually quite surprised with how quickly first term ended and how well the exams went. On her way home on the train, she was working with Alice in their compartment on some of their essays they had over break. They were both startled when Andromeda came into the cabin without knocking.

"Sorry," she said when she realized she had startled them. "Alice," she asked, "do you think I could talk to Cissy alone for a minute? It's kind of important."

Alice and Narcissa exchanged looks, but then Alice shrugged and said, "Sure, I'll go try and find the trolly, I'm a bit hungry anyway."

"Thanks," Andromeda said, sitting down across from Narcissa.

"What's wrong?" Narcissa asked. She had hardly seen Andromeda all semester, and thought it strange that this couldn't wait until they got home.

"Nothing, I didn't mean to alarm you, it's just…well during the holidays I've been invited to go…oh gracious I can barely speak. Cissy," Andromeda's eyes were bright, "I've met someone."

"Who?" Narcissa said stupidly.

"Oh Cissy, you are so naïve. But adorable," Andromeda chuckled. "I've met someone. A boy. I've met a boy."

"All right," Narcissa was still confused.

"No Cissy," Andromeda took Narcissa's hands, "I've met The Boy. I've met the one. The man I'm going to marry." Andromeda was exuding joy and smiling from ear to ear.

"Really? Mum and dad have already picked someone out for you?"

"Oh my goodness," Andromeda sighed. "No, of course not. I'm mean, maybe they have, but I don't care. I'm going to marry Ted."

"Who's Ted? Is he in your year?"

"Yes," she said, straightening up and her giddy smile went away. "But he's in Hufflepuff."

"Really? Mum and dad aren't going to like that you want to marry a Hufflepuff, but I suppose they can get over it."

"No," Andromeda sighed. "They won't get over it. He's a muggle-born, Cissy. Both his parents are muggles. He lives in London."

"A muggle-born? Like, a muggle, muggle? Andi, are you mad?" Narcissa began to laugh. "Mum and dad will never go for that! They'll go berserk!"

"I know," Andromeda said sadly. "Which is why I needed to talk to you. He wants me to come visit him over holidays, and meet his family. But I can't tell mum and dad that, so I need someone to cover for me."

"How can I do that?" Narcissa was sure her sister had gone crazy.

"I want to tell them that I'm going Christmas shopping with you. I'll take you with me, we'll get the gifts, and then I'll go see Ted and then we'll go home."

"And where am I going to be while you're with…Ted?" Narcissa was beginning to get annoyed.

"Well, you can come with me, or you can stay in the city, it doesn't matter to me. You're old enough to be on your own for a few hours."

"I don't know, Andi, if mum and dad found out, we would be dead. I mean, really, really dead." Narcissa remembered back to the conversation she had with Severus and what he had said.

"Please, Cissy, I need your help, you're the only one I can trust. This means a lot to me," Andromeda pleaded to her sister.

"It's just one day?" she asked. "Just for a few hours?"

"I promise," Andromeda drew an X over her heart.

"All right then," she said, shaking her head, "I must be mad."

"Thank you!" Andromeda leaped up and gave Narcissa a big squeeze, "Thank you so much Cissy!" And then she bounded out of the compartment, almost bumping into Alice, who had made her way back from the trolly.

"Is everything all right?" She asked, watching Andromeda skip down the corridor.

"Yeah," Narcissa threw her hands up in the air, "Andi's met some boy, and she wants to see him and…oh, it's complicated."

"You're telling me," Alice laughed, and they dug into the trolly food together.

Narcissa's stomach was in knots the whole time Andromeda was telling her parents they would be out Christmas shopping. She didn't dare say anything for fear that they would see right through the lie and send them straight to their rooms, or worse. But they didn't seem to suspect anything, so the girls used some floo powder to go to the Ministry the next morning and made their way up to the streets of London.

"Let's get the shopping done quickly, so it's over with," Andromeda said as soon as they were outside. They made their way to Diagon Alley and spent only a half hour or so picking things out for their parents and anyone else they wanted to give gifts to. They had only been gone for around an hour by the time they were finished and they left Diagon Alley to go back to the city.

"I have to take the Underground to get to his house," Andromeda said.

"The what?" Narcissa didn't know what that was.

"It's a train, underground, but only muggles use it. I've ridden it before, with Ted, over the summer."

"How did you even meet him?" Narcissa wondered.

"It's a long story," Andromeda looked down at her watch. "I'll tell you later. Do you want to come with me or do you want to stay here?"

"I'd rather stay here, if that's all right," Narcissa said. She had seen a library a few blocks back and figured she could read there most of the afternoon.

"Great, then I'll meet you here at three o'clock so we can head back to the Ministry and back home."

"All right, well, be careful," Narcissa said as Andromeda went to cross the street to the Underground station.

"I will," Andromeda smiled and waved goodbye. "And thanks again, Cissy, you're the best."

Narcissa watched her sister make her way down the steps and then turned and began walking. She hadn't spent much time in London, but she decided she liked the city and wanted to explore a bit before going to the library.

There were tons of muggles all around, and Narcissa couldn't help but feel a bit sad for them that they didn't know there was a man out there who wanted to kill them all. She wound down major streets and side roads, checking out all sorts of muggle shops and items. It was actually quite interesting for her, since she had never seen anything like it, growing up on the Black family estate outside the city.

She was about to make her way back to the library when she passed a row of apartments and heard some shouting from inside one of them. It sounded like a man and a woman were fighting, but Narcissa didn't think anything of it. Suddenly, the front door opened and she saw a young boy race out and slam the door behind him, but not before hearing more of the fight, where the man was screaming things like "worthless," and "rubbish" to the woman – and maybe the boy, too, Narcissa wasn't sure. She suddenly felt sad for the family, especially the boy who was coming down the front walk, right toward her, she tore her eyes away so she didn't seem rude, but did a double take when she recognized the boy's face.

"Severus?" she gasped. He looked up at her and turned bright red, his eyes flew to the ground and his hands went into his pockets. "What are you doing here? Why were you in there? That's not…is that…your family?"

Severus didn't say anything. Narcissa was taking in his appearance. She had never seen him not wearing wizard's robes before, and he looked thin in jeans and his t-shirt, although his jacket filled him out a bit.

"Is everything all right?" She asked gently.

"Yeah," he said, glancing up at her, then back down, "fine."

"Um, are you going somewhere?" She asked.

"Oh," he looked down the street, "not really."

"Do you want to get some lunch?" she asked. "We're not far from Diagon Alley."

He looked up at her, the redness gone from his cheeks. "Sure," he said, looking more relaxed. "But we don't have to go there. There's a nice place a few blocks from here."

Narcissa didn't have any muggle money, but she realized Severus might, so she agreed.

"So you live in the city," she tried to make conversation, although it still felt a bit awkward. "I've never known any wizards who live in the city."

"Well," he said, walking next to her, "I do."

"Your parents," she began gingerly, "Are they…muggles?" She was starting to put two and two together from all their past conversations and now this incident.

Severus was silent for a while before he answered. "My dad is. My mum, she's a witch."

"Oh," Narcissa said simply. "Do they always fight like that?"

Again Severus did not answer right away. "Yeah," he finally spoke, "sometimes worse."

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be all right when I don't have to live there anymore," he said darkly.

"Severus," she started, as they turned the corner, "I'm a little confused. I hope…I hope you aren't angry with me for asking, but…if you're not…if your dad's a muggle, how can you be with…agree with…Lucius and them, and that Voldemort man?"

Severus seemed to be thinking about the best way to answer that question. It was a few moments before he spoke.

"Sometimes," he said softly, "sometimes I think the world would be a better place without people like my dad in it. Without me in it."

"Severus," she was appalled. "Don't say things like that! You're important – look at all the things you've done, just to help me. I think the world needs more people like you, not less."

Severus stopped walking and turned to face her, "What the world needs," he said, his eyes looking at her with admiration, "is more people like you."

There was a moment between them, and then he turned and kept walking. "The café is just over here," he pointed.

They made their way inside and took off their coats in the warmth. "What's good here, then?" She asked him as a young girl handed them both a one-sided menu.

"Pretty much everything," he said. "Get whatever you like."

"I can give you some galleons," she offered, but he cut her off, eyes still on the menu.

"Don't be silly," he said, trying not to smirk.

They ordered their sandwiches and drinks and Narcissa was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the muggle food, which she had never eaten before.

"So, what are you planning to do this summer, after you're done with Hogwarts?"

"I suppose that depends on how many NEWTs I get." He said between bites.

"Going to follow that teacher route?" She teased him.

"Good heavens no," he said, rolling his eyes and sipping his soda. "I think I might be going into an apprenticeship."

Narcissa was surprised. "Really? With whom? For what?"

"Not really sure yet, but there are a few possibilities."

"Well, let me know when you decide," she said, finishing her sandwich.

"Are you still hungry?" He asked, noticing her empty plate.

"Oh, no!" she smiled, "That was…very filling."

"So what are you doing in London?" He sat back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's a long story." She rolled her eyes thinking of Andromeda. "I'm doing my sister a favor."

"Ah," he said, "I see. One of the benefits of being an only child," he sat back up, "is that I don't have anyone asking me to spend my day in London for them."

She smiled at him across the table, "Speaking of my sister, could you tell me the time? I'm supposed to meet her at three by the Picadilly station."

"We better get going, then, it's quarter til." Severus threw some money on the table. Narcissa wished they had more time so she could see what the muggle money looked like, but she figured she could ask him later.

They made their way outside and Severus led her in what she presumed to be the direction of the Underground station she had said.

"Thanks for lunch," she said, trying to keep up with him.

"It's no problem," he said.

"Wait a minute!" she said, grabbing his arm. "You're going too fast!" She laughed as he slowed down for her. She suddenly realized how nice it felt to have her arm through his and she decided not to take it away. She thought she felt him tense up, but they kept walking. As they went to turn the corner, Narcissa made a bold move and tilted her head onto his shoulder. That stopped him and he pulled away from her and faced her.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to upset you."

"No," he said, taking her by the shoulders, "I'm not upset. It was just…unexpected. Well, not so unexpected I guess, but…I can't."

"Can't what?" she asked.

"We can't," he clarified.

"I thought," she said, feeling confused and embarrassed, "I thought you liked me."

"Oh, I do," he said, seeing her discomfort. He moved his hands from her shoulders down to her hands and he looked her straight in the eyes. "It's not that I don't want to. I can't explain right now, but…oh I hate saying this…you'll understand some day. I'm sorry."

She looked back at him sadly, "Me too."

"Thank you for…a really lovely afternoon, though," he said to her, then dropped her hands.

"I better go meet my sister," she said, looking up the street towards the station.

"Yes," he agreed. "I'll see you at school."

"Goodbye," she said, waving as she made her way towards the meeting spot for Andromeda.

"Bye," he replied, hands now stuffed in his pants pockets, and he turned and walked away.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Life Without

Narcissa stared anxiously at the paper showing her OWL results. She wanted desperately to be able to continue on her path to being a healer. She wasn't concerned about getting straight O's – she knew that would be unreasonable, but as long as she was able to go into all the NEWT level classes that she wanted, that's what mattered to her.

"Good for you," Andromeda said over Narcissa's shoulder, making her jump. "Seven OWLs is really quite respectable, you know."

"Thanks, Andi," she said, folding up the parchment and handing it over to her father.

"O, A, E, E, A, E," said her father, "And another O in Potions. Well done, darling."

Narcissa braced herself for Bella's teasing, but then remembered it wouldn't be coming, as she no longer lived at the house. Narcissa breathed a slight sigh of relief. It never got old remembering Bella wasn't there to torture her anymore.

"Well, we'll need to go to Diagon Alley soon to get your NEWT materials." Her mother said, still reading the Daily Prophet.

"She can use some of mine, from my classes last year." Andromeda offered.

"Nonsense," their father laughed, "there's no need for that – have we ever made you girls use each other's things? Where would you get such a ridiculous notion?"

"Oh," Andromeda seemed nervous, "I just, some of my friends, someone I know…with money…never mind."

"Are you all right, Andi?" Narcissa was a bit concerned and confused with Andromeda's comment as well. She wondered the kinds of questions she would get from her friends if she showed up with a second-hand text book. They would think the family was in some sort of trouble.

"Fine," she said quickly, and left the table without another word.

Andromeda spent most of the summer out with her friends – or so she told her parents. Narcissa knew that she was probably at that Ted's house. But there wasn't anything that she would gain by telling her parents, so she kept her mouth shut. She almost wanted to go with her so she could chance running into Severus, but it seemed their mother always had something for her to do.

Before she knew it, they were boarding the Hogwarts Express again and heading back to school. Narcissa met up with Alice and they occupied their usual compartment, discussing their sixth year classes and all the work they would have to do for NEWTs.

"Do you still fancy being an Auror for the Ministry?" Narcissa had asked after learning Alice's class load was nearly twice what hers was.

"I sure do, there's a whole group of us that really want to try to get into the program after next year is over. They say…well, have you heard about this Lord Voldemort character?" Alice lowered her voice to a near whisper. "They say he's the most evil wizard that has ever lived – that he's building some sort of army, that he's trying to take over the world."

"Oh," Narcissa was suddenly very uncomfortable. "I, uh, well, yes, I suppose I've heard of him."

"Can you imagine? Being the one to bring him in? That would be just fantastic! I wonder what he looks like. They say no one's ever really seen his face – that he wears this cloak all the time. I bet he's super ugly!"

"He was really thin," Narcissa said absentmindedly, thinking back to the wedding.

"Sorry?" Alice said, her eyes widening. "Was? As in, you've seen him?"

"Well," Narcissa realized she was about to be somewhere she really did not want to go. "Not really, he – he sort of did my sister's wedding."

"No…way…" Alice was instantly enthralled. "Are you serious? You've seen him? And nobody…no one tried to catch him? He's supposedly murdered all these people! And he was there – in broad daylight – marrying your sister?"

"Well, her and Rodolphus." Narcissa muttered.

"I know that," Alice rolled her eyes. "You've got to tell me everything – what if you saw something that could lead to his capture?"

"I'm really not supposed to talk about it," Narcissa was beginning to feel sick to her stomach, remembering the horror that followed the wedding ceremony.

"But I'm your best friend – we tell each other everything." Alice looked like a mixture between hurt and disappointment. "Is there anything you can tell me?"

"I've never felt so scared in my whole life," Narcissa let out. "He just apparated in, and didn't speak to anyone – the only reason I heard anything was because I was in the front row. Then he did these horrible things to my sister and Rodolphus. And everyone…just sat there. Like…it didn't bother them. And then, he was gone. No one saw his face, or anything else. Just his hand. It was…so thin, and pale. Strange…"

"Wow," Alice was breathless with excitement. "Did he kill anyone?"

"Don't be ridiculous," it was Narcissa's turn to roll her eyes. "He wouldn't kill anyone in front of 500 people. Besides, he wasn't there to do any damage, he was there to…" she paused, not wanting to mention any more about the hideous ceremony. "To marry my sister. To Rodolphus."

"I just can't believe you've seen him – he's like this urban legend. Amazing." Alice sat back against the seat and gazed out the window at the sunset.

It didn't take long for Narcissa to wish she was back in fifth year. Her classes were unbelievably difficult – she had essays set every night in each subject, all well over two feet. To make matters worse, she felt terribly alone. All her friends began hanging out with boys between classes and at Hogsmeade. Summer and Emilie had begun spending their time with two of the seventh year boys, which Narcissa thought to be a bit stupid, since she knew both their families were already in the process of matching them with completely different husbands. But regardless, they were hard to find alone, so Narcissa didn't have any Slytherins in her own year to spend time with. There was Damarcus, but ever since Lucius had left two years ago, she and Damarcus had barely said two words to each other. And of course Andromeda had her own friends and NEWTs to worry about, and when she wasn't involved with one of those two things, she was thinking up ways to see Ted. Even Alice was scarce between classes, which didn't surprise Narcissa, since she knew the class load Alice was undertaking. But shortly before end of term, Alice came to her after dinner and dragged her over to the Ravenclaw table.

"I want you to meet someone," she said, smiling wide as they approached the table. "This is Narcissa," she said to the group of six or seven students seated at the end. They all waved and said their hellos. Most of them looked less than thrilled to be introduced to a Slytherin. "These are some of my Ravenclaw friends – we're all on the track to be Aurors."

"Ah," Narcissa nodded in understanding.

"And this is Frank Longbottom," Alice directed Narcissa to a rather good-looking dark haired boy in the middle of the pack.

"Pleased to meet you," he extended his hand and Narcissa shook it.

"See you later, then," Alice said to her friends, and bent down to give the boy she called Frank a peck on the cheek. Then she took Narcissa's arm and led her out of the Great Hall and out into the courtyard.

"So," Narcissa began, "you're seeing each other, then? You and Frank?"

"Oh Narcissa, I'm so sorry we haven't been able to spend much time together this year, but with classes, and then I met Frank, and we – we just hit it off. He makes me laugh," she smiled.

"I don't think I've ever seen him before. Is he in our year?"

"He is," Alice replied, "but he's in Gryiffindor, so until this year, we had different class schedules, and I'd never met him either. He's so amazing."

"I'm really happy for you," Narcissa smiled.

"Please tell me you've found someone," Alice asked.

Narcissa sighed, "It's complicated."

"So there is someone," Alice prodded with a smile.

"Well, yes, but…it's difficult. We can't see each other that much, and…things just…it's not that easy."

"But do you – do you like each other?" Alice was sympathetic.

"Yeah," Narcissa gave it some thought, "we really do. Whenever we're together, time just sort of stops. He's really…thoughtful."

"Do I know him?"

"Not really," Narcissa wished the conversation would end. She realized that at the end of last year they hadn't really had a chance to say goodbye and decide when they would see each other again. It made her miss Severus even more.

"It'll work out," Alice assured her.

"I hope so," Narcissa said, although she worried it wouldn't.

When Narcissa and Andromeda walked through the front door on the first day of Christmas holidays, they were both shocked to see Lucius Malfoy sitting in the parlor room with his father.

"Lucius," Narcissa said in a surprised voice.

"Hello, Narcissa," he said smoothly, his lips curled into a smile. "Andromeda." He inclined his head towards her.

Andromeda leaned into Narcissa and whispered, "What are they doing here?" Narcissa let her shoulders do a slight shrug.

"Supper is ready," their mother's voice cut through the awkward air, although the tension was not released.

"This is excellent," the elder Malfoy said, clearing his plate. "Our house elf leaves…much to be desired…in his cooking skills at times." He and Lucius shared a chuckle.

The meal had been nearly silent, and Narcissa was almost dreading finding out why half the Malfoy family had been waiting for them when they got home. The house elf brought out some brandy and butterbeer and everyone began to sip their after dinner drinks.

"I suppose we shouldn't drag this out," Narcissa's father said, looking around the table. "We – the Malfoy family and your mother and I – have decided that it would be in everyone's best interests for Lucius, who is a fine, fine young man," at that, Lucius bowed his head toward Narcissa's father, "And Andromeda to wed at the end of this school year."

"What?" Andromeda and Narcissa both shouted at the same time, looking in stunned disbelief at each other, then at their father, their mother, and then at Lucius, whom Narcissa immediately noticed was staring directly at her.

"Yes," her father said. "We believe it will be a very prosperous match for the both of you."

Narcissa was speechless. She kept looking back from Andromeda to Lucius, who didn't take his eyes off her, but kept his curled lips in a smug smile. Andromeda looked as though she was going to be sick, stood up from the table and left without saying anything.

Narcissa finally found her voice and managed to look at Lucius long enough to get out, "Congratulations," before she, too, stood up and went to find her sister.

It had taken some searching, but Narcissa finally found Andromeda outside in the gardens, sitting in the dark.

"Andi, you'll freeze to death out here," she said, casting a warming spell and conjuring up a coat for each of them.

"I can't believe it," Andromeda kept shaking her head in denial. "They must be mad – all of them."

"Are you all right?" Narcissa put her hand on her sister's shoulder.

"They must be crazy if they think I'm going to marry that…that…that snake."

"Well he's not that bad," Narcissa said, thinking the comment was a bit harsh.

"Are you serious? Don't you remember all the things you used to tell me about him? Not to mention he was Bella's best friend for seven years and I know about a lot of the things he's done – things you don't know about."

"What are you talking about?" Narcissa was confused.

"You don't know because he knows if you ever found out, you'd like him even less."

"What do I have to do with any of this?" Narcissa was completely baffled now.

"He didn't take his eyes off of you all throughout dinner. Didn't you notice?"

"Not really," said Narcissa, who had tried to stare at her plate as much as possible for the entire two hours.

"There is no way he wants to marry me, and I definitely don't want anything to do with him. I can't imagine for the life of me why they would think we'd go well together. They must be mad."

"So," Narcissa started, "What are you going to do, then?"

"Well, I'm not marrying Lucius Malfoy, that's for sure. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm not going to be that man's wife."

"We'd better get back inside, father is having a fit."

"I don't really care," she laughed. "You go. Tell them you couldn't find me."

"All right," Narcissa said. "Don't freeze – no one will be happy if you wind up as an icicle." Andromeda smiled at her.

"It will work out," Narcissa smiled back, giving her sister a hug. "I promise."

Andromeda never came back inside that night, and she didn't speak another word for the rest of the holidays. She mostly stayed in her room, only coming out to eat. When they finally got back to school, Narcissa didn't have time to worry about her sister, since she had so much work to do for her own classes. She did manage to get an Owl off to Severus, asking him if he knew about the engagement.

_Lucius had mentioned something to me, yes. Extend my congratulations to your sister, although from what I know of her, I doubt she would appreciate it. It is good to hear from you – I'm pleased that this year is going well. Perhaps we could find some time this summer to meet for another sandwich. Best wishes – SS _

Narcissa smiled when she saw the comment about Andromeda and made a mental note to tell her.

The term went on and Narcissa felt more and more alone. Finally, the exams were upon them, and the NEWTs went off first. Narcissa was in the courtyard when the last practical let out, and she looked up to see Andromeda making her way over to where she was sitting.

"How were they, then?" Narcissa asked, "Should I be afraid?"

"You'll be fine," Andromeda smiled.

"Are you all right?" Narcissa asked. She noticed that Andromeda seemed unusually tired and a bit sad.

"I'm fine," she forced another smile. "Listen, Cissy, I have to talk to you. Can we take a walk?"

"Sure," Narcissa was concerned. She packed up her things and they made their way around the lake.

"I've made a decision," Andromeda said after some silence. "And I feel like you're the only one I can really tell."

Narcissa nodded, beginning to really worry.

"I'm leaving," Andromeda said hesitantly.

"Leaving?" Narcissa confirmed, "Hogwarts? Yes, I know. And I'll really miss you, but I'll be fine – don't worry."

"No, sweetheart," Andromeda stopped and took Narcissa's shoulders in her hands and made them face each other. "I've always loved your adorable innocence. Please don't ever lose that." She paused before she continued. "I'm leaving. Leaving leaving. The wizarding world. Ted and I have decided to move in together, and as soon as I'm an adult in the muggle world, which will be in November, we'll get married."

"I don't understand," Narcissa shook her head. "You can't leave; you have to marry Lucius in June."

"Cissy," Andromeda hugged Narcissa, "I can't." She pulled back, tears in her eyes. "I can't do what Bella did – agree to spend the rest of my life with a man I barely know, don't even like. I can't."

"But mum and dad will be furious. You heard the things they said to Bella. They won't let you go. They'll never let you marry a muggle-born."

"That's why I'm not telling anyone else. I just want to disappear. I can take care of myself. And Ted, together…I don't need mum and dad anymore. I just need to be happy."

Now Narcissa's eyes began to fill with tears as she realized what was really going on. "But when will I see you? They'll never let me visit you. How will I know where you are? Will I even be able to Owl you? You can't leave me here – I'm already alone, living life without…without Alice and Summer and Emilie and Severus, and now you – now you'll be gone – who am I supposed to talk to? To be with? Please don't leave me to be the only one." The tears started to spill over and run down Narcissa's face.

"It won't be so bad," Andromeda smiled through her own tears, "Ted is completely supportive, and I'll send you letters when I can, when it's safe. We'll meet in secret – it's not like you'll never see me again. And you'll be fine – everyone likes you – you've got lots of people to talk to, to spend time with. You'll be fine."

They hugged again. "When are you going?" Narcissa asked as they pulled away from each other.

"Tonight." Andromeda answered matter-of-factly. "Our NEWTs are over; we have nothing left to do here. We're slipping out to Hogsmeade and Ted and I will Disapparate to his parent's place from the edge of the village."

"And you're sure this is what you want?" Narcissa was still pleading a little bit, feeling very helpless and small.

"I know this is what I want. I don't want to be a part of a group of people who base their self-worth on their bloodline. Who think killing people is the only way to make the world better; I can't be a part of that. Please, Cissy," Andromeda begged, "Promise me you'll be strong. Promise me you won't let them take the innocence away from you. Promise me you'll do whatever it takes to make yourself happy."

"I'll try," she promised, although she knew she would never be able to do something like what Andromeda was about to do – leave her family, her home, everyone and everything she knew, to have to be completely alone, even if it was with the person she loved.

"I love you, Cissy," Andromeda said, and took Narcissa into her arms again and gave a fierce hug. "I'll see you again soon, I promise."

"Please take care of yourself," Narcissa said. "Be safe."

Andromeda nodded, and then they hugged once more before she turned around and walked back to the castle. Narcissa didn't follow her. She sat down at the edge of the lake and began to cry again, feeling very, very alone.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – The Puzzle

Narcissa found it extraordinarily difficult to concentrate on her finals, but she managed as well as she could. She suddenly realized she was going to have to come up with something to tell her parents when they figured out Andromeda was gone. She finally decided that she would feign ignorance and hope it was believable.

Sure enough, at the train station, their father asked immediately where Andromeda was.

"I dunno," Narcissa said in what she thought was a rather convincing voice, although she had been practicing the entire train ride home – which she had made alone. "I thought she was with her friends on the train."

At first, her father was worried, and he began asking anyone he could where Andromeda had gone. Finally, he found some seventh year Ravenclaws.

"She wasn't on the train," one of them said.

"No one's seen her since NEWTs," another added.

"We think she's left," a third one chimed in.

"Left?" he sputtered out in astonishment. "Left what?"

"The wizarding world – we don't think she was too keen on who she was supposed to marry," the first one said. "Good luck," and the three of them left Narcissa's father standing, mouth agape, staring down the platform.

Quite suddenly, his worry turned to anger. "Come, Narcissa," he growled, and she thought it best not to say anything, for fear she would bear the brunt of his fury.

The car ride home was silent, but when they got home, the flood gates opened.

"Where is your sister?" Narcissa's mother shrieked when she found out Andromeda hadn't been seen for nearly three weeks. "She didn't tell you anything? No one saw anything? What if she's been hurt? Or taken?"

"Some boys told me they thought she left to get out of marrying Lucius," her father said. "I'll call the Ministry and have them start looking for her. She is going to have some serious explaining to do."

They ranted and raved for nearly an hour until her father finally made the call to the Ministry. It wasn't long after that that her mother made the obvious statement, "We'll have to Owl the Malfoys."

"Maybe you should wait until tomorrow," Narcissa said carefully. "Perhaps the Ministry will be able to find her tonight." Narcissa knew they wouldn't be able to. She knew Andromeda wouldn't be stupid enough to use magic until things had died down, which might take a very long time.

"You're right, Narcissa," her father said, putting down the parchment. "Let's see where we are in the morning."

But nothing had changed by morning, or by the next evening, and with the wedding less than a month away, Narcissa knew things were going to get very ugly very fast.

"…Completely ruined your chances for a decent match…" her mother was saying to Narcissa one morning at breakfast. "…Totally inconsiderate of her…"

Nearly a week had passed and there was no information on Andromeda's whereabouts. Narcissa knew it was coming, but it still surprised her a bit when the Malfoy's came over for dinner one night to discuss what to do about the wedding.

Narcissa was quiet throughout the evening, but when it was over, she was surprised a second time to hear Lucius address her.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" He asked politely.

Narcissa agreed, and they made their way outside to the garden.

"How are you doing?" Lucius asked her once they were away from the house. "Since your sister left, I mean."

"I'm all right," she said. "Thanks for asking. And…how are you? How are things at the Ministry?"

"Very well, thank you. Next year will be your last year at Hogwarts, will it not?"

"Yes," Narcissa was impressed that Lucius remembered what year she was going into.

"What are you planning to do?"

"I thought I'd try to get an apprenticeship as a healer. I passed all my necessary OWLs and I've done well this year in my NEWT classes."

"Of course you would, you have always been quite sharp."

"Still with the flattery?" Narcissa laughed lightly. "Tell me, why the match with my sister?"

"It was my father's decision." Lucius answered simply. "I trust you know how these arrangements work."

"I do," Narcissa said, slightly miffed. "But I also know you, and I know no one makes decisions for you unless you agree."

"You think so?" Lucius smiled at her surreptitiously.

"You may fool other people, but to me, Lucius Malfoy, I can tell you have other intentions."

"Do I?" Lucius mused, looking at the sunset. "Pray tell, what are my intentions?"

"Well," she began, "I…I suppose I'm not entirely sure. But I know you didn't just agree to marry my sister. Bella wanted to marry you, but you refused her advances. You've told me before about your feelings towards Andromeda – you think she's dull and boring. There's no way you'd consent to spend your life with her. So what happened?"

"You so entertain me," Lucius quipped. "I do adore your ramblings. Please go on."

"I am not a puppy!" Narcissa was indignant. "I'm not trying to entertain you. I'm trying to figure out what's going on so that I can finally get some sleep."

"Everything will work out," Lucius said, continuing to watch the sun dip below the horizon.

"Work out? I'm so tired of hearing that!" Narcissa shouted. "Everyone keeps telling me things will work out! I don't want things to work out, I just them want them to be right…right now!"

Lucius pulled his lips up into a smile so smug he looked like a cat who just swallowed a canary. Or a snake who swallowed a cat, Narcissa thought to herself.

"We should go back to the house," Lucius remarked, "I don't want you to work yourself up into hysterics." He turned around and began to make his way back. Narcissa stopped for a moment, incredulous, and then stomped after him.

"I am not hysterical!" she said indignantly. "Stop treating me like a child!"

"Oh, you are no child," Lucius whirled to finally face her and his eyes burned into hers. "You are definitely," his eyes flickered to her mouth, "A woman." He finished, then turned back and went up steps.

Narcissa didn't know what to think or feel. She was still worried about Andromeda, and her role in the disappearance. She was worried about what would happen to her family if the wedding didn't go off. Now she was half angry with how Lucius had just treated her, and half flattered. She shook her head and made her way back inside.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll go up to my room," she said to her mother as she passed the parlor, where the four were sitting.

"Do you not feel well," her mother asked in a concerned voice.

"Not really," she answered, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone else.

"Well," her mother smiled, "get some rest then."

"Goodnight," she muttered as she began climbing the stairs to her room. At the top step, she was suddenly overwhelmed with curiosity, so she sat down and listened to the conversation below her.

"Lovely girl you have there," Mr. Malfoy was saying.

"Thank you," Narcissa's father replied.

"It's probably best she's gone to bed," Mr. Malfoy continued, "I don't think she'd take too well to what we have to discuss."

"She really is distraught about her sister," Lucius added.

"Yes," Narcissa's mother murmered. "Aren't we all?"

"There is no need," Mr. Malfoy spoke again.

"Pardon?" Narcissa's father spoke in a sharp voice.

"I have come upon some…information," Mr. Malfoy began. "It seems your daughter has found another man with whom she would rather spend her time."

"Well, we thought it might be something like that," Narcissa's father said in a defeated voice.

"At first, we were willing to call off the engagement – of course none of us wants our children to be so miserable they would run away without warning."

"Of course not," Narcissa's father said unconvincingly.

"But then we found out who this boy was, and our tenor changed. It seems your daughter has run off and moved in with…a Mudblood." Mr. Malfoy ended dramatically.

Narcissa felt her stomach drop. She didn't know how the Malfoy's had gotten this information, but she knew that if they could find out that much, that they could certainly find out where she was staying, and she was worried for her safety. She wasn't sure what those people – Bella's people – would do to someone who wanted to be with a muggle, although she knew what they would do to Ted. She resisted the urge to write an Owl, since she didn't know where her sister was.

"Excuse me?" Narcissa's father was raising his voice. "My daughter would never stoop to such a level, she was raised in the Black family household, her blood is pure, she…oh my…" his voice trailed off.

"These photos, they're recent?" her mother was asking.

"Within weeks," Lucius answered.

Narcissa's heart skipped a beat. She didn't know how they could have had photos of them. Now she was worried for herself – that someone would find out she knew all along but didn't say anything. She didn't want to think about the consequences of that.

"I'm sure you can appreciate the magnitude of the situation," Mr. Malfoy kept talking. "Our family is certainly not willing to take the shame that would be associated with this incident. And I am quite sure you do not want your family to suffer any ridicule, should this information get out."

"Of course not," Narcissa's father sounded both enraged but completely embarrassed.

"After all, you still have a lovely daughter – no one wants her future ruined because of one bad seed."

Narcissa's rage welled up at how Andromeda was being treated in this conversation. It took a mass of self control not to storm down and set them all straight.

"We have been thinking about some sort of deal we could work out to…ensure that both our family's reputations would remain in tact."

"Yes, yes of course," Narcissa's father sounded eager now.

"We feel that this could be…finessed. The wedding calls for a Malfoy and a Black. The Malfoy is still available, and there is another Black who is not currently engaged to anyone. If…if you were agreeable…"

Someone cleared their throat.

"If you were to promise us Narcissa – to be married to Lucius, we could guarantee that this information never reach another soul."

Time seemed to freeze around Narcissa. Her head felt dizzy and light, and she suddenly had an urge to vomit. She bolted up and ran to her room, barely making it before she collapsed on the bed.

She didn't even hear her father as he answered, "Consider it done."

Narcissa awoke the next morning to the sunlight peeking through the curtains. She rocketed up in bed when the memory of the previous evening came flooding back into her mind. She briefly considered the possibility that it might be a dream, but knew her world far to well to not know by now that it was far closer to reality than fiction what had transpired the night before. She didn't want to leave her room. She didn't even want to leave her bed. She also knew her parents were unaware that she had heard the conversation, and she didn't know when they were planning on telling her about the arrangement. She felt sick again, but willed her stomach to control itself.

But her parents didn't mention anything about it that day, or the day after. In fact, the entire summer had gone by and there had been no mention of the Malfoys or what had gone on after she went to bed. She had tried desperately to forget – she had read every text book for her upcoming year twice. She had been practicing incantations and making potions and had gotten all sorts of books on being a healer, but nothing could block out the horror she knew was going to come. When September first came around and she still hadn't heard anything from her parents, she knew they were going to follow the pattern of Bella and Andromeda's engagements and tell her at Christmas holidays.

Narcissa rode the Hogwarts express feeling completely and utterly alone. She spoke to no one, and no one spoke to her. She didn't eat anything, which had been the pattern for the last several weeks, as she had had no appetite. As she was stepping off the train and looking up at the castle in the moonlight, she realized that her feeling was similar to when her grandmother had died. She had just been a little girl, but the emotions were the same. It depressed Narcissa even more once she figured out that she felt like someone had just died.

The days passed quietly. Narcissa did her work and she did it well, but she felt increasingly alone and dreaded each day that moved her closer to the holidays. It was the week before the first Hogsmeade visit when she realized that she had to see Severus. She Owled him and asked him if they could meet the next weekend in the village. She pleaded, saying it was a near emergency. His reply was swift and concerned, and she was able to feel some relief knowing that she would be able to see him soon.

As she was making her way to Hogsmeade the next Saturday, she began to feel nervous. She hadn't seen Severus in nearly two years. They had corresponded fairly regularly through Owls, but she began to worry that things might have changed between them. She made her way down the streets of the village until she saw who she was sure was Severus waiting for her on a corner.

"Hello there," she smiled at him. He had grown a bit taller and filled out some since she had last seen him. His eyes were still black and his skin was still pale, even in the cold wind.

"How are you?" he asked her concernedly. She felt a shiver she was sure wasn't from the cold at the sound of his voice. She had forgotten how it made her feel.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" She asked.

"Would you like to go inside somewhere?" he offered.

"If it's all right with you," she said, "I'd rather take a walk through the woods."

"Of course," he obliged, and they made their way to the edge of the forest.

"So I suppose you're heard," she sighed after they walked for a while in silence.

"Heard?" Severus replied cautiously.

"About…me and Lucius." She said the words she had been dreading for months.

"I have," he answered.

Narcissa felt her body grow warm as her stomach flip flopped while she decided what to do. She didn't really know Severus' feelings for her, and she didn't want to upset him, but she remembered her promise to Andromeda to do whatever it took to make herself happy.

"I don't want to marry him," she finally squeezed out.

"Really?" he sounded a bit surprised.

"No," she said. "Of course he's a good match, his family is…well, he's Lucius Malfoy. I should be chomping at the bit. I mean, my sister almost killed me for him. But I…" she stopped walking, and Severus followed suit. She turned to face him and she realized how striking he was, dressed in black against the snow-white forest. It gave her the courage to continue.

"I don't love him." She stopped again, willing herself to say the words she needed to say. "I…I love…you." Their eyes were locked together and she felt like she wanted to look away, but she couldn't.

There was an unending silence that echoed through the trees. It seemed to last forever before Severus spoke, "I'm sure you are mistaken."

"I know we've been friends a long time, and I know we haven't seen each other for a while, so I suppose I understand if you don't feel that way about me anymore…if you ever did…but I…I'm not mistaken. You mean…everything to me."

"I told you we can't do this," Severus told her softly.

"I know, but…it's not fair."

"It never is," he said sadly.

"Could you tell me," she asked him gently, "Would you tell me…if things were different…what your feelings are for me?"

"I do not think words would do them justice," his voice was low. "But I believe the best I can do is to let you know that you are, and have been for quite some time, the most important person in my life. And I do not think that will ever change."

"Why?" she implored him, "Why can't we be together? Please just tell me."

"You know," he looked pained. "I'm not…your family…"

"I don't care about my family," she choked.

"Yes you do," he said softly. "There would be nowhere for us to go. And besides, I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I…Lucius…I have…made choices." He finished with a note of regret.

"Lucius, he's your friend," she said.

"It's less about that and more about…" he paused. "Lucius is a very powerful man," he said, trying to make her understand. "There are things," he continued, "things I can't tell you, but I can…we're all a part of a giant puzzle. We're just pieces, being placed. We can't…change our place. You and I, we're not meant to change our place."

Narcissa took a moment to digest what he was saying. Things finally started making sense when Severus started speaking again.

"You have to marry him." He said darkly. "You have to understand…things will work out for the best. You have to marry Lucius."

"But…" Narcissa protested.

"Please," Severus took her by the shoulders. "Don't try to be a martyr. Marry him, live the life you were meant to live. Don't waste your life…regretting things."

Narcissa looked deep into Severus' eyes and saw the pain and the fear and the sadness, and she saw the love.

"All right," she agreed. "All right I'll do it. But first," she paused. "I have to know – what it would be like – what we would feel like."

"That's not a good idea," Severus said in a hollow voice.

"Please," she whispered, "Just once."

Severus seemed to hang on the moment, then he pulled her in close to him and their lips met.

The kiss seemed to last forever, and Narcissa felt her heart explode; she had never felt so many things at once. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he held her even tighter as their lips pressed together with a passion Narcissa knew deep down she would never feel again. Severus was so close; she could smell his skin, his hair, feel his soft fingers winding themselves through her hair, pulling them closer together. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, her stomach in knots.

Then, too soon, it was over. Narcissa felt Severus pull away and she let go of him as well. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see the rare sight of color in his face.

"Thank you," she said as they separated.

"I hope," he said, "That was everything you thought it would be."

"It was much, much more," she replied with a smile.

"I agree," he said back in a whisper. "We should go," he said firmly.

"Severus," she said to him, hanging back, "We'll always have this. No matter what happens in either of our lives, we'll always have this moment. Our moment."

He said nothing, but he didn't need to. His look said everything to Narcissa, and she began to prepare herself for her future as they walked back to the village and said their goodbyes.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – From Black to Malfoy

_Dearest Cissy,_

_I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to contact you, Ted and I had to be careful for a while – it seemed like I was being followed. Things are fine now, we got married – the picture is a muggle one, but it's all I could get for you. I really hope things are going well for you your last year at Hogwarts. I hope you get into a healer apprenticeship like you wanted. I can't wait to hear from you. If you ever need to reach me, just tell the owl to find Andromeda Tonks and I'll get your letter. I miss you, Cissy – stay safe._

_Love, Andi_

Narcissa reread the letter and then looked out the window of the Hogwarts Express. She had been putting off writing her response because she wasn't exactly sure what to say. She figured that when she knew what to write, then she would write it. She had been trying to make peace with what was coming over the next few days, but no matter what she told herself, it didn't seem to get any easier.

When she finally arrived home, she found herself unsurprised at Lucius' presence. His father was with him, again, and Narcissa felt tired, and decided not to drag out the inevitable.

"Lucius," she sighed, "I sort of suspected you might be here."

Her parents exchanged a look and she chose to fill them in. "I heard," she explained. "Over the summer. I heard your conversation with Lucius and Mr. Malfoy. I know what's…going on. So please don't tiptoe around like I'm some sort of vase that's going to break. All I ask is that Lucius and I have some time alone."

"Of…of course," Lucius answered, looking taken aback at Narcissa's candor.

They made their way outside into the garden and there was a strong silence that Narcissa could barely stand to break. She willed herself to fight back the tears and the rage that were rising up inside of her.

"You conniving…snake," she whispered, her eyes narrowing as she stepped in to attack Lucius. "All this time, I have been so stupid – so blind. Everything…you've done everything."

"I'm afraid I don't follow," Lucius said evenly.

"Don't play dumb with me. I won't buy it. How long?" She spat at him, "How long have you been…orchestrating this?"

Lucius said nothing, his expression unchanging.

"Bella's obvious – you refused to marry her because you wanted me. But I don't understand Andi; why risk getting engaged to her if you wanted to be with me? It doesn't make any sense." Narcissa paused, trying to put the pieces together. "Unless you knew…"

"There was no way your father was going to marry you off without your sister going first," Lucius finally spoke. "When I found out she was running off with that silly muggle boy, I knew that she would never consent to marry anyone your parents chose. I knew that if her secret got out, my father would never allow me to marry someone with a stain on their family. So I went to my father, I told him that you were the one I wanted, and I explained that if we came to your family about marrying Andromeda, that she would leave and let the secret leave with her, which would open the door for you. For us."

Narcissa's mouth hung open in astonishment. She was completely speechless and was trying to digest what Lucius was saying, but he went on.

"Bella almost had me, you know," he sat down on one of the stone benches. "For three years, she had spent all her time getting close to me, trying to convince me that the Black and the Malfoy family were meant to be together. I wasn't particularly interested in her, but some of the other prospects that began to emerge were even worse – in some cases. So I was getting ready to talk to my father about beginning the arrangement process." He paused and turned to face Narcissa. "Then you walked through the door."

Narcissa was still in shock, but had managed to close her mouth and was listening in spite of herself to everything Lucius was saying.

"I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you that you were the answer to Bella's master plan. The Blacks and the Malfoys would join together, but not in the way she wanted. There was so much to do; so much groundwork to lay. At first, I came on too strong. I realized that the day we had our conversation in the library. I knew I had to back off, or you would never give me a chance. So I toned down a few notches; became your friend. I must admit, when I encouraged my father to mention the Lestranges to your father for Bella, that was a stroke of genius. And of course, the whole Andromeda situation almost had me stumped. But," his lips curled into a smile, "Things have a way of working themselves out."

"You blackmailed my father into this," she said dangerously. "I am not some piece of property that can be traded…bought and sold. I am a person. And if you cared at all about me, you would understand that."

"Oh, I do care," Lucius said smoothly. "But can you honestly tell me that if I had come to you and asked you to be with me, that you would have said yes?"

"Of course not!" Narcissa flung back.

"Because you don't love me?" Lucius said quickly.

"No!" Narcissa raised her voice. "I don't love you. I love…" Narcissa stopped short, realizing that she absolutely should not say Severus' name aloud.

Lucius leaned back and folded his arms across his chest, smirking. "Go on," he encouraged, "Enlighten me."

"You knew," she said softly, her eyes welling up. "You've always known, haven't you?"

"It was pathetically obvious," he laughed. "He never complained about you – that was beyond amazing. And then he started saying…nice…things about you. That was the dead giveaway. With the others it was easy. Damarcus – all I had to do was threaten him with Quidditch. And everyone else who…expressed an interest in you…was easily dissuaded. I was concerned what influence I would be able to have – once I was gone. But I realized – quite happily – that you shared his…affection, so I wouldn't have anyone else to worry about."

"What did you say to him?" Narcissa asked, feeling like she had been punched in the gut.

"You needn't worry about that," Lucius assured her. "Suffice it to say that Severus and I have a very solid…agreement. We all make choices," he said in a low voice. "And those choices come with…consequences."

"Why?" Narcissa whispered, her stomach aching. "Why don't you want him to be happy? Don't you want me to be happy?"

"It would have never worked," he argued. "He could have never given you the life you…deserve, that you're used to. You and he…you aren't meant for each other. You're on different levels – universes, even. It was only through a strange coincidence that your paths even crossed in the first place. Even if you refused me…he will never marry you." Lucius finished emphatically.

"Because you told him he can't," Narcissa said bitterly, wiping tears from her cheeks. "They were all right," she continued, her efforts failing with her tears. "You are…powerful. You get what you want. You wanted me…and you got me. Who are any of us to stand in your way," she finished with disdain.

Lucius looked at her for a moment with a strange look on his face, then he came over to her and got down on his knees, and took her hand. "Narcissa," he started, his voice losing the slippery edge it usually had. "I do want you to be happy. I want you to be happy with me. I want you – not to prove that I get what I want, but because you are…a brilliant, amazing, wonderful person. I know you don't love me, but am I really so terrible that you…that you couldn't…learn to? To love me? I will give you anything you desire. You will never want for anything. You are the only woman I have ever met that I believe can be my equal. Do you think that you could…try?"

Narcissa's heart was hurting, her head was spinning and her mind was racing in a million different directions. Did she really want to accept the fate of Bella? Did she have the strength of Andromeda to reject that fate? Could she ever learn to live knowing she would never be with the person she truly loved? How would she be able to cope and justify living with and being married to this man who manipulated people with such ease? She pulled her hand out of his and took a deep breath before she began. She wiped away her tears and opened her mouth.

"You will never lie to me," she said forcefully. "You will never do anything to dishonor me or embarrass me. You will never treat me as a piece of property. You will allow me to make my own decisions. You will let me write to Andromeda. You will let me become a healer and you will not force children on me. You will respect me and you will treat me as your equal. You will tell me everything. We will have no secrets."

Lucius stood up and brushed off his pants. "Of course," he agreed, "But you must understand that there are things I cannot share with you. Things I am bound never to divulge – to anyone. You cannot ask me to break those – I would not, even if I could."

"Fine," she agreed in return. "But I will not join your sordid little club. I will not be forced into darkness like my sister."

Lucius let out a laugh, "Believe me, no one forced Bella to do anything – she was…chomping at the bit."

"Regardless," she interjected, "I will not be a part of it. And I don't want _him_ at our wedding."

"Agreed," he said simply. "Any other…demands?" He smirked at her.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is."

Lucius waved his arms in front of him for her to continue.

"Severus," she began. Lucius' eyes darkened. "Severus and I will remain friends. You will not forbid me to see him, or him to see me. You will do nothing to jeopardize our friendship."

"Very well," Lucius consented. "I am not concerned about Severus. He understands his…place in the grand scheme of things. I have great confidence in our…arrangement."

"Then it's settled," Narcissa felt like she was having an out of body experience. Her arms and legs felt tingly and heavy like lead. She felt the words roll off her tongue before she could think about what she was saying. "I will marry you."

"We should go inside, then," Lucius said, stepping in to Narcissa and putting his arm around her shoulders. She tensed involuntarily, but commanded herself to relax. "I don't want my…fiancée…catching her death of cold."

The last few months of term flew by for Narcissa. She quickly grew tired of people congratulating her on marrying into the most influential wizarding family in Britain. She tried to focus on her studies and felt fairly confident when she stepped in to take her first NEWT. Pending her marks, she was set to begin her apprenticeship at St. Mungo's in August, shortly after the wedding. She tried to concentrate on being a healer, rather than on her becoming somebody's wife.

Once she arrived back home, it only took a week or so for the results to arrive. Thankfully, she had passed all her NEWTs with flying colors, and the arrangements were made for the apprenticeship. The only bad thing was that it left Narcissa with nothing to think about except the wedding. It was only a week away, and everywhere she turned there were reminders about it. She had been trying to come to terms with what her future was going to be. She had written Andromeda several times but had received no responses. She hadn't been allowed to invite some of her non-Slytherin friends, like Alice, to the wedding, so she had had to inform them via Owls as well.

The days passed far too quickly; Narcissa felt like all she did was blink, and she was wide awake on the morning of the big day. It was still dark outside, and she lay in bed trying desperately not to think of how badly she wanted to see Severus and Andromeda and Alice. She finally decided to get up and have some tea while she waited for everyone else to wake up. She got out of bed and put on her robe and slippers and headed downstairs as quietly as she could.

"Bella," she exclaimed in a whisper as she saw her older sister sitting at the table.

"Cissy," Bella looked up and met Narcissa's gaze.

"What are you doing here?" Narcissa wondered. She noticed how much Bella had changed since the last time she saw her, which had been quite some time ago. She was thinner and paler and looked like she had aged nearly a decade; although her eyes were still dark and sour.

"We got in late last night – after you had already gone to bed." She smirked at Narcissa's surprise. "What, you didn't think I wouldn't come to my baby sister's wedding…just because of whom the groom is?"

Narcissa didn't have anything to say.

"Look, we're not children anymore," Bella said frankly. "It took me quite some time to realize that you weren't ever going after Lucius – he was going after you. Looking back, I'm actually glad I didn't end up with him. He's far too…sneaky for me. With Rodolphus, what you see is what you get. I like that in a man. So are you happy?" She inquired.

"About?" Narcissa stalled.

"Marrying Lucius," Bella looked like she was resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Or anything for that matter."

"Why wouldn't I be happy?" Narcissa continued gingerly. She knew a trap when she saw one, and Bella was rather good at laying them.

"Well, I certainly wasn't thrilled about being told to marry Rodolphus, and obviously Andi wasn't too happy about being forced to marry someone. Let's just say I'd understand if…if you had reservations. Perhaps an interest in someone else."

"No," Narcissa felt like she was dancing around a deep hole, "No, I agreed to marry Lucius. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come off it, Cissy, he's one of us. Or have you forgotten? I see him almost every day – spend a lot of time with him. He's madly in love with you, you know."

"Which is why we're getting married," Narcissa said, clenching her jaw.

"Not Lucius, you silly girl, Severus."

Narcissa felt her cheeks burning. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean. And if you're trying to stir up some sort of trouble to stop this wedding, you're going to have to come up with something better than that."

"Why would I want to stop the wedding? What would I get out of that? I'm just wondering why you agreed to marry one man when your heart belongs to another."

"My heart is none of your business, Bella," Narcissa said darkly. "And I think it would be wise to keep any remaining comments to yourself."

"Suit yourself," Bella shrugged, and took a sip of her coffee.

The seconds passed like hours and the hours felt like days. People started arriving and Narcissa began getting ready. She was upstairs in her room making some final adjustments when she heard a soft knock at the door.

"Come in," she said, thinking it must be her mother to bring her downstairs.

"Hello, Narcissa," Severus' voice sent shivers down her spine.

"Severus," she turned, very surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"It is Lucius' wedding," he justified.

"No, I mean up here, in my room?"

"I suppose I wanted to see you…one last time before…before you became Mrs. Malfoy."

"Does he know you're up here?" She asked, knowing the answer.

Severus nodded.

"It's rubbish, having to get his permission to see me." She said angrily.

"He told me you laid down a rather strict list for him, before you accepted his proposal," Severus let his lips smile a thin, sad smile.

"I just wanted to make sure I wasn't signing away my life, my independence. And I wanted to make sure we would still be able to be friends."

"I'm glad you did," Severus said genuinely.

"We'd better go, they might start without me," Narcissa joked lightly.

"You look beautiful," he said softly, opening the door for her. "Lucius is a lucky man."

Narcissa smiled sadly, then turned to give him a hug before they started down the stairs. "I'll never stop loving you," she whispered into his ear.

They made their way downstairs and to the back door that led out to the ceremony.

"You go, I need just a second," Narcissa said to him.

He paused for a moment, then bent down and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Me either," he said with a faint smile, then went out to find his seat.

Narcissa pressed her fingers against her eyes to hold back the tears, and began to run down the list in her head of why she was doing what she was about to do. She took several deep breaths and said one final charm to fix anything that was out of order. Then she took her first step outside and down the aisle, Lucius waiting for her at the end.


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue

Narcissa hadn't been working at St. Mungo's very long when she finally received an Owl back from Andromeda with profuse apologies about not writing sooner, explaining the reason was because they had just had a baby girl they named Nymphadora. Andromeda had enclosed several adorable pictures of the family and the new baby, along with a thoughtful wedding gift.

In time, Narcissa grew quite comfortable at St. Mungo's and also at home with Lucius. He had kept his end of the bargain and Narcissa never wanted for anything and never felt like she was some sort of trophy. At the end of her three-year apprenticeship she was offered a full-time position at the hospital, but declined it because she found out she was going to have a baby of her own before the end of the year.

Things happened quickly over the summer and before she knew it Lucius was being questioned about his involvement about the murders of the Potters, she was devastated not long after that by the torturing of her former friend Alice and her husband – by her own sister. Her spirit was hardened in the coming years having to live on edge because of Lucius' commitment to the Dark Lord. Her son grew up before her very eyes and although she tried as hard as she could to protect him from the terrors of the world, he went on to join his father following Lord Voldemort.

Now, Narcissa sat alone in her kitchen, head in her hands, her pensieve in front of her, watching the memories from so long ago that she wished she had been able to piece together sooner, wondering if things could have been different. Lucius was in jail, Draco and Severus were missing, and she felt like she was back at Hogwarts – small and alone, with no one to turn to. She was so lost in her own grief that she barely heard the pecking at the window. But she finally flicked her wand to let in the Owl and it dropped a letter addressed to her on the table.

_Dearest Narcissa,_

_I regret that by now things are far beyond repair; however, it is essential that I send you this. Please rest assured that we are fine – for the time being. I will try to send you notice should our situation change. You will hear many things about what happened. Please know that your efforts did make an impact on your son and that the Vow was upheld. Things will most assuredly go from bad to worse quite quickly, and it is imperative that you stay out of sight and keep yourself safe. And no matter what happens, just remember – remember our moment, and know that everything will work itself out. It always does._

_Sincerely,_

_SS_

::_FIN::_


End file.
